Anamnesis
by Katie Ann
Summary: The memories began to circle in her head, but whose memories they were and whether they were real she could not ascertain. She decided that like all good stories, she would start at the beginning. Post TP. LxZ.
1. Heroes in the Night

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_A new year, a new story! I've returned to my traditional take on Zelda, this time focusing on the connection between Link and Zelda, and the possible connection between the most recent Zelda games. I know of the timeline theory, but this story makes much more sense to me, so please forgive any liberties I've taken. I wanted to be as close to the universe as possible, but for the sake of creativity I also flipped some things around.  
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_Also, this being my first attempt at a multi-chapter for the Zelda universe, I bid any readers understanding in that my updates might be slow but nevertheless satisfactory. Any one who has followed my Aladdin work would know this well. :)  
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_And remember, secrets don't make friends, but **reviews **do!_

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**Anamnesis**

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The first time Zelda, Princess of Hyrule, had ever traveled beyond her castle, the journey was marked for religious purpose and sacred duty.

The pilgrimage was scheduled for a period of more than one week, mostly to cover the distance necessary to reach the sacred shrine in one piece. Her belongings had been packed, her food prepared, and her horse equipped but there was an aching in the Princess's heart that could not be reconciled. The task had been set by her council, not by her, nor even by her advisors and it took more than one mind to persuade her to make the trip in the first place. Because although she was the princess and priestess of her kingdom, she did not want to leave.

Her place—nay, her purpose—lay with her people, especially during the reformation of the kingdom, especially when she could be of greatest use during her rule. But as the council glanced sideways at each other under plastered, twisted lips, the princess knew that her argument was poorly contended. A small part of her know that she did not belong, in the immediate aftermath of Ganondorf's defeat, within the palace walls when the people could not and would not forgive the ignorance and irrational inefficiency of her rule thus far. She had abandoned her people to the forces of twilight, they said, and although Zelda knew deep down that her role in this affair was hardly guilty, her duty demanded some type of repentance for her failure.

She was granted an escort which she refused, insisting instead on the necessity of the passage as a period for contemplation and prayer. How could she do such with twenty men talking and cooking and snoring near her? The council answered her question with another: then how will the princess protect herself? Zelda recalled laughing at this point, even though laughter speared her throat. She had pierced Ganondorf himself with the tips of her light-arrows, bravely battling his strength atop horseback as moblins attacked from all sides. She could handle a few kargornacks.

It was still morning when she left but she expected to see a larger crowd of townspeople bustling about their daily tasks, coupled with the new assignments her council had appointed for the revival and renewal of the city center. There were but a few people on the streets, and as she led her horse down the steep slope from the palace, its metal shoes clinking sharply against the cobblestone, she thought the city looked like the forgotten ghost-town of Kakariko. She silently shivered against a spurt of cool air that mingled with the light perspiration on her forehead.

Next she passed the high stone archways that stood sentry before the town with their risen flanks and carved emblems. There were more villagers in the field now than in the town, as they worked to rebuild the high stone fences that squeezed life into the city. The chore was long and the day promised heat and they worked diligently to avoid more work when the sun would not be as forgiving. Zelda waved at these villagers, who squinted and shielded their eyes in the bright sunlight, not really seeing her as she failed to recognize each of them. A stranger among her own people, her people nameless faces in a sea of summer. Disappointment set in on both sides, for the people expected a different rider at her approach and she expected a different reaction from those whose welfare was her life. She slowly put her hand down.

The sun parted from the high mountaintops and rose into the air, proud and haughty before the light wind so that the day was warm and cool all at once. But it was also silent. The Princess preferred this, just as she preferred the sunlight, just as she preferred the laborious trek through the fields and then the forests and then the ruins to sitting at her desk and reading everything while noting nothing.

Too long had she been locked up in that damn castle, looking out from her tower window and seeing her world, her kingdom, diminish into darkness and then recover with light. Even after the defeat of the evil lord Ganon, Zelda had been forced back into the castle to meet with her council, to prepare the city for the restoration that would commence immediately. She was not granted access to her people, and not once was she allowed to walk around the city herself, surveying the damage. This order came from both the council and the goddesses themselves, whose whispers the princess could hear with her long ears. And although she would have preferred to seen to the city herself, Zelda was silently, and shamefully, glad that she would not have to see the worst of the damage: she was not sure her heart could handle it.

As soon as she was out of sight from the castle, Zelda wanted to fling herself off her high horse and roll upon in those tendrils, to absorb the warmth of the sun through her skin and stain her dress natural green. But she held her head up high instead and let the animal follow the designated trail that led south; she had no time for frivolous behavior when her people required satisfaction.

It was not entirely her fault that her kingdom had been plunged into Twilight, but really there was no other set of shoulders upon which the blame would fit so nicely. She had been the ruler at the time, yes, but she had just lost her brother and her father to the worst disease ever to incapacitate the land of Hyrule. And through her mourning she had been forced to ascend the throne, to learn all the laws and proceedings and disciplines of court that she had only witnessed from afar, no one in the court or the council ever imagining that the young princess would ever take the crown. So she was unprepared, both mentally and emotionally, from the disastrous events that would next occur.

Zelda sighed at that, and with great wisdom and some courage she allowed her thoughts to travel over the recent events of the last year, from the sudden attack on her kingdom, to her regretful surrender, to her despondent imprisonment, to her meeting with Midna and the wild beast who would be hero.

She self consciously rubbed her right hand over which, emblazoned in gold, rested the sacred symbol of the Triforce of Wisdom. It was this marking on her hand that saved her in the world of Twilight, allowing her to retain her human figure and with it her intellect and perseverance as princess. She still did not understand why the goddesses had chosen her, of all people, to hold the piece, so celestial and divine was its reason, when there were surely others graced with more forbearance and more aspiration for the greatness that wisdom, as a necessity, grants. But then perhaps that was the point; perhaps only those who would be borne to greatness, who achieve greatness by having it thrust upon them, were meant to bear a piece of the triangle.

She thought of the others who had been delivered this emblem, blessed by the goddesses, and why their fate should be so intermingled as to go on and on forever. Zelda felt this knowledge had always rested within her being, newly awoken by the events of late that served to sanctify her judgment and validate her purpose. Why the goddesses should grant the Triforce of Power to Gandondorf was obviously apparent in his quenchless thirst for power and control. This was the way of the world: that so evil a man might obtain and wield power that is beyond his control, complacently sanctioned, so that there would always be fear and darkness so long as there was hope and light.

The Chosen Hero offered her more of a reason to reflect, because she had doubted his very existence until he was delivered to her by the Twilight Princess. Link was subject to the rule of the goddesses, had been since before his birth, since the formation of the kingdom itself hundreds of years ago. This was something that Zelda did not question because it was something that she had known better than her father or brother, better than the rest of the council put together. Ever since she was little and could hear the whispers of the goddesses when no one else could or would—she knew that there would be another like her, forced to endure the same trials, obligated to serve the goddesses just as she had. His role had been painted in the stars, foretold by the goddesses, and witnessed by the princess.

But what would be his purpose now that a great evil had finally be vanquished, in this lifetime at least, and now that he had lost his innocence, his complicity, and his closest friend? Zelda decided that she would pray for him as much as she prayed for her kingdom, that the goddesses might release him for the ever torturous, ever fateful game of duty which promised deliverance without ever promising when.

The Princess rode throughout the day, hardly stopping but to let her horse drink greedily from the river banks. Twice she thought she espied a group of moblins stalking the outer plains of the valley, but the sun's heat proved to be playing tricks. When she did stop for water, she took the opportunity to cleanse her face and rub her tired eyes before continuing the trek southward. She would travel from Lanayru Province, named for her guardian spirit Nayru, to Faron Province and then back again, with only her horse and her heart knowing the way.

The moon was high into the sky before the sun grew weary of its eternal duty and descended for the day. Hyrule Field in the twilight forced Zelda's heart to race and her head to pound, but she journeyed on, her wisdom assuring her when her courage could not. She was not afraid of what the night might bring; the night was merely the absence of the sun and the moon had never been her enemy. What she feared, truly, was something never to be named, something never to be experienced by her descendents just as it was foreign feeling to her ancestors. But Zelda would always find unease when two worlds, seemingly opposite but certainly parallel, would intersect for the briefest time. She felt loneliest at twilight.

Once night had truly fallen, Zelda trusted her nerves to find some quiet place for some peace before resuming her path the next day. She located a small crop of trees, settled next to fallen ruins that might have once been a great wall or perhaps a statue, all of which appeared securely concealed. She hopped off the horse and tethered it to the nearby tree. Assembling her things beneath the branches, Zelda brushed and fed her steed before retiring for the night, without any form of sustenance for herself. It would be another day and another night before she even reached the outcrop of the forest glen, but there was no rush in her step. It was a journey of penitence, of atonement, of realization and she had to pray diligently and reflect inwardly before she would even be ready to visit the temple. On the morrow she would eat, and then pray again before shouldering her things back onto the saddle and urging her horse forward just another day's ride.

She could not build a fire or else risk exposure and so comforted herself against the cool night by gathering her woolen cloak tightly about herself. Sitting against the trunk of the tree, Zelda scanned her darkening horizon to discern any ill-meaning scoundrels or vicious predators that might try to carry off her or her horse. But the vicinity was empty and with a small smile directed at the animal, which whinnied in concurrence, she closed her eyes briefly for some quiet relaxation.

She awoke some time later to the sound of a battle drum and the distinctive clash of swords echoing on the other side of the ravine. In her stupor, she let the sound beat in time with her heartbeat before recalling her location and her situation. Her nostrils flared and her eyes opened wide to search for the source of the noise, but the darkness hindered her normally piercing gaze. The warmth of her horse behind her gave her some comfort, though she felt it shudder soundlessly.

Suddenly she sensed a strange scent, as if the trees had lent their fragrance to the summer's wind. But Zelda could see neither goblins nor swordsmen with which to match both the scent and the sound. Her long ears, poised for hearing the whispers of the goddesses, pin-pointed the location of the noise as hidden beyond the sprawling cliffs on her right. Deciding that fleeing was the best option, she quickly mounted her mare and led it around the trees, away from the noise, and into safety. She saw nothing in the darkness.

Her alarm remained heightened even hours after the near skirmish, and despite her calming reason she could not dissipate the pounding of her pulse. Though the night remained, and she realized that she had truly received minimal sleep, the princess could not wisely stop lest she endanger herself further. Although she had worn armor since childhood, a remnant of harsher times when queens and kings could be slaughtered in their beds and princesses and princes learned to rely on no one, she knew that such protection was ornamental at best. Her normal attire did little to aid her in battle, which was why she had adopted a more practical dress for the journey: a loose riding habit, equipped with long boots and leather gauntlets, and a leather breast plate to obstruct some attacks. Ceremonial shoulder guards had been outfitted as well, although this only served to mark her as nobility.

Zelda rode throughout the night and into the early dawn, where the rise of the sun forced her to take a break for the benefit of herself as well as her mount. She napped on the edge of a natural pond that had nearly dried up in the constant heat of summer, but her horse seemed satisfied. It was not a member of the royal stables for nothing.

The second day seemed as uneventful as the first, although this time Zelda did recognize some members of her kingdom. A small band of Gorons led a wagon of goods from the Eldin Province into what the princess assumed was the Castle Town. They seemed to be taking the long road ahead, preferring it for the lesser amounts of enemies, no doubt. When Zelda rode past their caravan, more than fifty yards away still, the small tribe appeared to tense at the unfamiliar presence. It was not until Zelda raised her arm in a gesture of peace, the sunlight glinting off the gold of the Triforce on her hand, that the Gorons calmed and gestured also in goodwill.

"Be careful, lady! These paths are more dangerous than they look!"

Zelda grinned. "Do not worry, friend. I am also more dangerous than I appear!" She heard the Gorons laugh heartily, their giant bellies and shoulders shaking even more in the summer heat, and she waved to them goodbye once she passed.

By the time Zelda reached the farthest region of the province, the twilight set upon her again, stripping her heart of faith and hope. Astride her horse, Zelda silently prayed to the goddesses for the further wisdom and necessary valor to settle her nerves and show her the way. Her ears piqued at their voices, strained as they fluttered from the heavens above, and suddenly Zelda felt no fear. When she opened her eyes, night had descended once again.

She quickly located the best place for rest—in a sheltered cavern near the western part of the field—and unpacked her horse, tended to it by brushing its coat and letting it some water and provisions, and then prepared dinner for herself. It was a quick meal, not altogether very appetizing, but then a princess had never been taught how to cook her own food, only to eat it with refinement, as if for a show. She realized she had not eaten since yesterday morning and her stomach rumbled in aggravated anticipation for the sparse dinner.

Her horse seemed unperturbed by the events of the day, and immediately sauntered to the other side of the cave; it nibbled on the treats it had been given. Zelda sighed at the sudden lack of companionship, the cold of the hard rocks unsettling her. The fire she had built would slowly dwindle and die out, leaving only lifeless embers in its place.

And for a moment, Zelda had the fiercest desire to tend to that fire, to keep its flames alive and sparking in the somber moonlight, and she placed no less than four logs atop its healthy hearth. She pulled her fingers back just in time to avoid the sudden spurt of life, and with this crackling she recognized the strange scent from before. And then she knew and so she waited.

The group of moblins came clumsily in the moonlight, and the princess wondered at their inability for stealth when they clearly meant to remain unseen. But then they were at a disadvantaged; although Zelda could not see through stone, she could see through the darkness, and she counted their forces at less than fifteen even before they shone in the firelight.

By then she was ready. Her sword clenched tightly in her fist, she sprang up from her seat suddenly, frightening the younger moblins as they gave screeching, throaty cries and fell back. They tripped on the other moblins and for a moment not one of them appeared to have the strength to face her, tall and formidable as she looked in the barest traces of light. They saw first her sharp ears, and then her sharp eyes, and realized that they had made a mistake in provoking her. Zelda tensed, raising the sword in front of her and bending her knees in instinctual pose. But with a cry from the back, from the largest moblin, they all issued grunts of strength and pushed forward all at once while Zelda waited behind the throws of the flames.

When they were nearly on her, she sprang to the side, pushing herself forward with the curve of the mountain until she was behind them and they behind her. The monsters turned in surprise when they realized she was gone and then turned round to face her in the now open field. She struck down one with the hilt of her sword, knocking it unconscious, as others swung their blades fiercely, and others still pointed their arrows toward her heart. She deftly dodged to the side, knocking through the enemies with vigorous defense.

Caught up in the whirlwind of the battle, she did not notice arrows pierce the chests and foreheads of the most vicious monsters; nor did she see the near misses she faced when the monsters that had been closest to tearing her flesh had suddenly fallen with a screaming cry of pain. She chased those monsters who did not want to die off with the brandish of her sword, until there was but one moblin left. It faced her, with its back to the fire, and as Zelda advanced it did not see nor sense the flame licking its backside. It only realized this when Zelda's eyes grew wide at the sight of the fire nearly engulfing its entire back, and then the moblin gave a agonizing roar and ran off into the darkness, the spurts of red and orange on its back marking its progress down the mountain.

Zelda turned about, counting the numbers on the ground to ensure that none had been missed. But as she did so, she realized that her sword had not slain any of the beasts, and yet there was the unmistakable sign of blood pooling onto the earth. She slowly backed up to the mountainside, stepping smoothly over the fire, with her sword still drawn. She looked into the darkness and saw him.

He came up from the shadows as if they birthed him, draping his figure in dark patches of faded and forgotten colors, like a war hero decorated. His hands were dirtied with sweat and blood, traces of it still lingering on his blade. With his horse beside him, he made a haunting figure and yet there was a familiarity in his stance that shook the fear from Zelda's heart. He revealed himself slowly, as if not wishing to frighten her, and when she became acclimated to his presence, he spoke softly, his voice warm and velvety.

"Are you all right?"

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_If you've gotten this far, please review!_


	2. Making Conversation

"Are you all right?"

If she had been startled by his appearance, it was nothing compared to her shock at his speech. She realized she had never really heard him speak without barriers between them: they had either been accompanied by Midna before the great battle or by a royal official in the days after. He seemed genuinely concerned for her, his tone very gentle and his voice very kind. It was a simple statement and yet it spoke volumes about his disposition.

Zelda nodded her head almost imperceptibly, still reeling from his sudden presence and taken aback by her inability to foresee his appearance. The Triforce of Wisdom granted her numerable capabilities, as a blessed being of the goddesses, and yet they did not seem to function properly when the hero was involved. Zelda looked at the strapping muscles in his arms and legs, and then his tunic of well-worn green, and then his tousled auburn locks, and then his gentle smile, all of which dissipated her anxiety but could not bury her confusion. What was he doing there?

"Yes-yes I'm fine." She realized she was still holding the sword in front of her chest defensively and instantly lowered it. "I'm sorry; I did not see you there before."

Link nodded lightly, but his attention and his eyes wandered to where her horse was tethered in the far side of the cave. He glanced back around to the few bodies lying on the ground and then back at her, a somewhat pained expression on his face as though he were the bearer of bad news.

"We'll have to find another place to rest for the night. More forces are sure to arrive now that they know where we are."

Zelda, enraptured by his gentle countenance in spite of his powerful figure, could only nod her head in agreement. She slowly bent down to gather her things while Link whispered briefly into his horse's long ear, giving her an order, no doubt, for the creature stayed in the exact spot Link left her as he crossed the outcrop and untied Zelda's mare from the side. He led the beast over to her, petting the side of its neck in a reassuring way, and he helped Zelda fasten her things to the saddle. Then he helped her onto the horse, grasping her hand tightly in his for the briefest moment as she gained her balance, before marching over to his own mount and leading the way away from the edge of the cliff. Zelda looked back and realized they had forgotten to put out the fire, but Link seemed to know what she was thinking.

"We will leave the fire as a diversion." Zelda nodded, realizing that the moblins would come back if they saw the flame burning still, giving them extra time to escape to a more secure location. Her ears began to twitch uncomfortably but the voices of the goddesses were incomprehensible, whispering different statements all at once, as though they were quarreling.

Link led her to the other side of the cliffs, and then up the mountainside, a feat which Zelda would have doubted possible had she not been by his side. It was certainly not a path she would have attempted alone, but Link's presence buoyed her confidence. She steered her reigns so as to follow up the steep path until they reached a flattened crest near the summit of the hillside. They climbed high above her previous campsite, buried deeper with the mountain to a ledge that had only one path, secure from the monsters of the night.

The hero led Epona to an overhang of stone, nimbly descending from the saddle to lead Zelda's horse to the same spot. He helped her down, his firm hands held lightly on her waist, and gave her a comforting smile as he took both horses away to the other side of the plateau, away from the ledge. Zelda looked about the terrain and gasped when her eyes beheld the grand sight that the mountain provided—she could clearly see across the fields of Hyrule and with her acute vision she espied the very towers of the castle rising steadily into the night sky, some miles away.

Link was by her side before she realized he was there and she gave a small start at his sudden presence, to which he frowned and inclined his head in apology. He had on one shoulder her bags, full of her personal effects and equipment, and on the other he held more saddle bags, presumably his own. He motioned for her to sit in a tidy space that was tucked into the mountainside, where she found two logs and a stone circle that held before many fires, the smoldering ash blowing lightly in the air. She smelled the odd fragrance on the air again, the one she had previously associated with the moblins, but then acknowledged that that had been a foolish assessment: monsters do not smell of the earth and the trees and the grass and the wind all at once.

Zelda stood next to the fire, ready to accept any task which Link might set her. She looked about to discover a small pile of wood, probably packed there by the hero himself to guard it against the weather, and she picked up two logs to set them in the pit. Link had taken out an assortment of instruments, the first of which was a flint stone used for starting a fire. But at this, the princess placed her hands on his to stop him. He looked up inquisitively.

"Here, let me." She squeezed his hands and then let go when she noticed his embarrassment, and in silence she bent low over the fire, moving her hands lithely, murmuring a few words in ancient Hylian. At once, a fire blazed in the center of the pit, and Link looked at her in astonishment. She only smiled and shrugged.

"It was the least I could do. You did, after all, just save my life."

Link cleared his throat and copied her shrug, the corners of his lips twitching upward in accord. He put the flint away and immediately withdrew some cooking utensils and packages of food, which Zelda looked at with an ache in her stomach. He turned to her expectantly.

"I can make some stew if you'd like. It's not much, but it is filling."

Zelda signaled her affirmation with another nod of her head. "Yes, please. I am a little hungry."

Link chuckled at this, looking at her with a piercing stare that Zelda had only witnessed in a mirror. He appeared to know more than she let on; he had also seemed to know which of her saddlebags contained the necessary equipment for her slumber. From all of this she drew a single conclusion.

"How long have you been tracking me?"

Link, who had been bent over a slice of meat in the act of seasoning it, looked up without surprise or discomfort. "Since you left," he said simply.

"Ah." Zelda sat down on the log next to him and watched his hands at work. "And when were you planning on revealing yourself?"

Link did not look at her this time, but continue to prepare the meal. "When it was necessary."

Zelda frowned at this answer, but took it as an answer nonetheless. Soon, Link had stirred the meat in with an assortment of thick gravies and colorful vegetables that hissed at the meeting of the melting pot. The luscious aroma quickly filled the air and Zelda closed her eyes as the scent filled her nostrils and caused her stomach to growl. She did not see Link give her a sideways glance with a half-smile; when she opened her eyes again, she saw him staring out over the view, his eyes on the castle with the high moon astride it. She looked at him sadly and knew his grief closely, for it was her own grief, the grief of gaining everything and losing everything all at once.

"Sorrow and silence are strong, and patient endurance is godlike."

Link peeked over at her from beneath his fallen locks. He studied her for a moment before he turned back to the view, responding, "Do you always speak so wisely, in cryptic tongues?"

Zelda smiled but did not laugh; such was the measure of her serenity. "Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is counted wise: and he that shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding." She looked at the hero briefly, who appeared bemused, and hastily explained her point. "It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it."

Link laughed a hearty, rich melody that floated on the wind and tingled Zelda's skin. "Then I must be the wisest man there is, for I think much but say very little."

Zelda smiled again, a little deeper than before but still maintaining her composure, and placed her hands to warm them before the flame. "I suppose that comes from your nomadic nature? There doesn't seem to be much in the way of company in this part of the world."

Link shook his head, but merely attended to his stew. Zelda continued on as if she had a rapt audience. "But you know, even the fiercest warriors need someone to talk to now and then.

Sorrow is the mere rust of the soul, which dialogue and activity will work to cleanse; I have the ears of Hylian, and by this marking it is surely known that I enjoy listening." She watched him rather expectantly.

Link looked up, a little surprised, and he measured her with a gaze that might have been uncouth had Zelda not known his honest nature. "What would you like to talk about?"

Zelda began to grow a little exasperated, but her own patience ran as deeply as Lake Hylia and so she simply smiled, encouragingly. "Whatever you'd like to talk about."

Link frowned a bit and turned back to fire. It lit his features in an otherworldly glow. "To be honest I don't really enjoy making unnecessary conversation."

Zelda looked down a little, chastised for the moment. She did not want to press the issue, and endured the silence for a moment while Link carefully boiled the dish. When it was fully cooked he served her a rather generous helping, placed gently in a chipped wooden bowl, before taking the rest of the stew himself, eating it directly from the pot. He looked at her, again apologetically. "I haven't any fine cutlery. I'm unused to cooking for two."

Zelda smiled kindly and shook her head. She took a sip of the stew and nearly gasped when it touched her tongue. "My goodness! This is hot!" She tried, as elegantly as the situation allowed, to spit a bit of the liquid back into the bowl to save her burning taste buds. Link had set his plate down and rummaged through the back on his right, withdrawing some water in a thick glass bottle. He uncorked the top and offered her some, which she took gladly. When she had gulped the water down, she looked him a little injured for he had begun to laugh. "I'm sorry, but your stew was very hot. You ought to have said something beforehand."

Link chuckled, but picked up his pot and spoon to commence his meal. "You are the wise one, fair lady."

Slightly upset and affronted, the princess picked up her bowl again, this time blowing the spoonful before placing it in her mouth. The concoction was thick and flavorful, and she nearly emitted a low moan as it traveled down her throat and warmed her insides. She had not realized how truly hungry she had been, or perhaps the stew was simply something she had never before encountered, but at the moment it was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten and she promptly told Link this. He smiled but did not look at her, and she took this cue to remain silent for the rest of the meal.

Once the food had been cleared away (Zelda again insisting on helping, which with a simple wave of her hand had done the work in an instant), the two sat for a long time beneath the stars, silent as the wood they perched upon. Zelda did not mind the silence, for it brought about the reflection necessary on her journey. She found it odd that Link had not asked her where she headed or why she journeyed alone, and she considered whether or not he intended to accompany her for the rest of the way. It would be a companionship that Zelda would not mind, truly, one that she would prefer, but it seemed too much to ask and even more to expect and so she remained quiet.

From her spiritual union with the Twilight Princess, Midna, she discovered that the blue eyed beast she had first met was the same hero who worked tirelessly, constantly, determinedly to save the kingdom, a task which had not been assigned to him, merely asked of him. His courage and valor were true testaments to the hero's garb he wore, and yet he was also kind and gentle, soft-spoken and honest. His willingness to sacrifice himself for the good of the people, her people, endeared him to her forever, but given that the two had had few meetings and little conversation following the liberation of Hyrule, she could not say that he was a friend. Indeed, she knew so little about the hero and his past, except from what she learned from Midna and from what the goddess themselves described to her, and she had no way of knowing who and what he truly was: man or beast, friend or foe, kindred spirit or possible usurper?

It was obvious that he was the former in every case, but not really knowing him personally she could only go with her instinct, which was usually right but never really adamant. She knew that they both had been marked by the goddesses and from this consecration derived mystical powers in a world that held both earthly joys and supernatural airs. They were the blessed in a land of slumbering saintly power and thus maintained obligations to the goddesses and to the people of Hyrule, never to each other or to themselves unless called upon by these powers. Such was the fate of those predestined for eternal suffering and perceived glory.

But the addition of the Twilight Princess was a different chapter altogether and one that she was sure had been added for her generation alone. She had gathered only glimpses into the complex relationship between the Twili and the hero during her time as a bonded spirit within Midna. She saw, through the other princess's eyes, the hero as an amiable, righteous, courageous individual who spoke very little but said so much. He was the sort of man who put his country first and his own needs second, who scaled mountains and swam under lakes to find a way not only to destroy the evil that haunted the entire land but also to overcome the obstacles that ordinary citizens endured everyday. He could rescue kittens, save an entire race from starvation, help a Yeti with his wife's cold, and bring smiles and sunshine into the darkest crevices in the world. And at every stop, the Twilight Princess treated him with familiarity etched in love.

A wrenching pain tore at her chest for a moment, but Zelda skillfully shoved it aside to focus on the present. She looked up, noticing that he had started to repack his weapons into the bag, and she watched him with a deep curiosity that resonated a stirring response within her being, so that by the time he had finished his task and noticed her staring, she could hardly contain her questioning.

She wanted to know it all: how had his journey begun? How had he found Midna? How had he returned light into the realms steeped in twilight? When did he discover the Master Sword? What was the Temple of Time like? What was his home like? Had he suffered greatly during his adventures? Had he lost anyone dear to him during that time? And the most troubling question that Zelda was sure would linger at the end of the conversation: how much did he miss the Twilight Princess?

"Are you cold?"

His inquiry startled her out of her thoughts and she turned to him in surprise, noting that he stood before her, stoking the fire but watching her out of the corner of his eye. She nodded in the affirmative but bit her lip to hold back her smile when he turned, fully concerned.

"Would you like another cloak? Or perhaps a blanket?"

She shook her head. "No, that's all right. I've brought my own." She stood up to retrieve her own saddle bag from the other side of the fire, but in the blink of an eye he held it out before her.

"Here." Without any scruple or hesitation, he reached into the bag and pulled out a long, woolen blanket from the inside, unfolding it in front of her. He took a step closer and threw it around her, draping it tightly over her shoulders before stepping away quickly. She remained standing, slightly shocked, but grateful at the immediate warmth.

"Thank you."

His lips twitched into a brief smile and he nodded as they both sat down, but said nothing. She took this as a cue to continue.

"Do you carry anything like this for yourself? Surely it must have been cold at some point during your travels."

He looked up, slightly puzzled. "I actually don't have anything like that. But then I haven't had the need for such articles." He laughed a little when she raised her eyebrows. "Of course, there were times when it was extremely cold, but I think I moved around so much that it never really bothered me."

"It didn't bother you at all? Even in the frozen north?" She cast her eyes down after saying this, realizing that in theory she should not have known that he had been there to begin with. She hastily picked up a small twig and began drawing patterns in the dirt.

His expression grew intrigued before it dawned on him to what she referred. "Of course, you were with us when we met Yeto and Yeta." It was a statement in his words, not a question.

She neither confirmed nor denied this, but continued with her train of thoughts, twirling the stick around in the dust as she spoke. "Midna was very cold even though she pretended to be unaffected."

She almost feared looking up to see his expression, but whether he was offended by her mention of the name or simply shocked, she could not tell for a silence overcame them suddenly. She chanced a glance up at his face and saw him deep in thought, staring into the fire so intently that his eyes reflected the spurt of the flames. Zelda hurriedly tried to ease the situation.

"I'm sorry, I should not have mentioned it, I just recalled that—"

"No, that's all right. I'd forgotten that you were with us for the second half of the journey." He turned to face her suddenly, his eyes dark in the shadows of the night. "What else do you remember?"

The princess bit her tongue, unsure of how to proceed. She remembered only fleeting images and sounds and feelings during the time she had bonded to Midna, and everything had merely been an extension of what the other princess had been feeling. When Midna was afraid, Zelda had been afraid; when happy, they were both happy. It was through this tie that Zelda had first associated her own partiality to Link, assuming that Midna's affection had endured within her spirit even after they had separated. But looking at him now, through her own eyes without social or even physical barriers between them, Zelda could not imagine the source of her affection for him being anything but her own.

She decided honesty would be the best policy, and she chose her words carefully. "I could not see or hear or feel on my own, of course, but I can remember some moments with blaring intensity while others had slipped from my mind completely. I remember, for instance, that you flew in a rocket to the City in the Sky, but I can't remember what you did there except fight a dragon. I suppose it was because Midna had been afraid for you during those times, and relatively uninterested in the rest of the temple."

Link surprised her by laughing at this, smiling into the fire as though he could picture the scene before them. "She threw a fit when she realized that we would have to use the cannon to reach the place. She wouldn't speak to me for an entire day, not until I asked for the machine to be fixed by the man from the lake, and the price was so steep that she almost exposed herself then and there to reprimand me for throwing all that money away!" He laughed so heartily that it became contagious and Zelda found herself chuckling right along with the story; his words even invoking vague images to float through her mind, stirring her memory.

Just as sudden as his laughter, Link grew silent and his expression became one of anxious nostalgia. Zelda quieted immediately and in his eyes she found the same mourning that plagued her heart.

"You miss her, don't you?"

Link did not look away from the fire when he responded. "Very much."

Zelda turned her attention to the flames as well and sighed. "So do I."

They sat in relative silence, the only noises stemming from the crackling of the fire or the neighing of their horses in the background. Zelda wrapped her arms tightly around herself beneath the cloak, shivering despite the warmth from the wool and from the fire. She could not think of how to best continue the conversation, if it should be continued at all, for her words seem insignificant, even worthless, in the face of such sorrow.

She knew that Midna loved Link, loved him as a man she would always want but could never have. They were two worlds apart, separated not only by their nature but also by their temperament; where Midna was cold, Link was warm; where Link was idealistic, Midna was practical; and where Link was Hyrule, Midna was Twilight.

But if Zelda felt the loss of the Princess as acutely as she did, without having spent any real time with her as two separate entities, she could only imagine the grief that Link must have felt at losing such a close companion and friend. And given Midna's affection for the hero, Zelda suspected there must be at least an equal or greater fondness from Link—daresay she even suppose there to be love? Is so, she knew that nothing had been consummated from that sentiment, but that did not lessen its intensity.

The only thing that came to her mind then was an old saying she had heard from her mother. She decided that it was appropriate enough to merit discussion. "They say absence diminishes little passions and increases great ones, as wind extinguishes candles and fans a fire." She looked at him with a sad smile. "Those that are gone will never truly leave us, you know."

Link reached over and grasped the stick from her hands, tugging it away gently and tossing it to the side. "That is what they say," he conceded. "Sometimes, just before dusk, I swear I can feel her shadowing my steps again, like she's still there, even though I know she isn't anymore." With her attention now fully on him, he leaned closer to her and cocked his head to one side. "Do you think she can feel us in such moments too?"

"Yes." She did not even stop to think about the answer before she gave it. When he looked at her in surprise, she tried to explain. "My grandmother used to tell me a story of a man and a woman, destined to forever be in love despite the rule of the goddesses that they could never be together." A warm blush spread over Zelda's face and neck as she spoke, remembering things that should have been forgotten but had not been. "They were connected through a heavenly union; their spirits mated to one another in ways that made even the deepest love seem inconsequential. But because they were not permitted to foster their love, they found other ways to be together despite their separation." Her heart leapt in her chest, but Zelda shrugged it off lightly. "My grandmother told me they would each look up at the moon every night and know that on the other side of the kingdom, their lover was doing the same. It made them feel…united. Even if only for a few moments everyday."

Link leaned back against his log, sighing. "That sounds about right."

"What do you mean?"

He looked over at her briefly to gauge her reaction. "I've traveled throughout the entire kingdom, witnessed the miracles of life in nature, in people, in animals. There is nothing that is new to me because nothing is new. Even the most painful grief and tribulation have been suffered before. That is the way of the world, it seems. Nothing is fair and fair is nothing."

Zelda contemplated these words carefully, trying to discern from them the source of Link's woe when it seemed that the hero had always been in high spirits. It was a different side of him, one that she was unaccustomed to even in her extensive dealings in his story and his legend. In fact, throughout the legends of the past, the princess had been the one inclined to heartache and misery, unable as she always is to defend and protect her people and her kingdom and her hero from unspeakable terror. But for the hero to lose all faith, simply through the loss of his friend…unless she had been more than a friend?

An ache tore through the princess's heart at this idea, although she was unsure as to why. She pushed away the pain by shifting her weight and continuing. "We have no right to ask when a sorrow comes, 'Why did this happen to me?' unless we ask the same question for every joy that comes our way."

Link nodded imperceptibly in the darkness. "Yes, I know. But perhaps that question would be better asked by someone who knew more joy than sorrow in the first place."

Zelda frowned and felt her heart pound painfully in her chest. She was about to respond when Link stood up suddenly, looking at her across the scarlet flames. "Goodnight, princess." His mouth twisted into a small smile before he was gone, into the shadows and away from her. She sighed dejectedly, disappointed with the course of the conversation, and moved her things away from the fire, preparing for sleep.

"Goodnight, hero."


	3. Curiosity and Cuccos

Zelda could not sleep that night, despite the exhaustion plaguing her body and the fullness of her stomach lulling her into lethargy. Link had pushed the logs upon which they had been sitting away from the fire, shaping them into a protective circle against the side of the mountain. He had not spoken another word to her after bidding her goodnight, disappearing into the darkness as quickly as he'd come. It was a while until she realized that he had moved his gear to the other side of the plateau, away from her and the fire, and although he probably meant this respectfully, to give her some privacy, she couldn't help but feel lonely at his suddenly cold demeanor.

She gazed up at the stars, scattered throughout the midnight heavens like diamond dust, recognizing the various constellations that she had been taught as a child. There was so much that she knew about the earth and its laws, so much she knew about the ways of people and society, and yet looking into the vast night sky she could not help but come to the conclusion that there was so much more that she didn't know. She did not know why her land had been subject to a great evil, did not know why it had been spared through the efforts of another princess. She did not know her destiny now, since she had failed to achieve the prosperity of peace that her ancestors had discovered. Would the goddesses demand the full repentance that her people also clamored for? Or would she be spared, her wisdom and her crown left intact, let off with a harsh warning and ominous threat for the future should she let her guard down again?

But the thing that plagued her the whole night through was the thought of her savior: she did not know Link at all, even though she knew his story and his history better than he probably did. Strange memories surfaced through her mind, fuzzy but bright in the absence of light, but she could not recall when they had happened or even if they were real. They might have been memories she'd imagined in her day dreams. When sleep finally overtook her, though, her real dreams were filled with fairies and forests and familiarity.

The sun had barely risen before steady movements nearby stirred her from her slumber. Her eyes cracked open a fraction of an inch, but she was startled when all she could see was a sea of green. She sat up quickly, her cloak slipping off her, and in the morning dew it was as though she had plunged into a tankard of ice. It sent shivers down her spine, but this feeling was incomparable to electricity that coursed through her skin when she felt a light touch at her shoulder.

"Your highness? Are you all right?"

It took a moment for Zelda to be able to focus on both his touch and his voice, so that a pointed pause filled the air. She looked at him as he eyed her dubiously, and she blinked several times before finally muttering a response.

"Forgive me—yes, yes, I'm all right. You simply startled me."

Link frowned and dipped his head down in apology, but he did not move away. "I'm sorry, but we need to get going if we are to reach the Sacred Grove by nightfall."

Zelda nodded but her brain again concentrated on his grip on her shoulder and her eyes focused on his hand. When he saw the direction of her gaze, he removed his fingers and stood, grabbing a few of her bags into his hands instead. "Will you be needing any of these right now?" He asked awkwardly.

"No, that's all right. I'm ready to go as I am."

He smiled appreciatively and walked away to attach the bags to her saddle. He mounted and looked at her expectantly, though he did not say anything. Zelda hastily stood to follow and instinctively wrapped her cloak tightly around her. It was going to be a long day.

They rode throughout the morning at an easy trot so as not to tire her horse. His mare—Epona, was it?—seemed unaffected by the entire excursion and looked as though she would very much prefer a nice chase across the kingdom. Zelda envied the horse and its energy just as she envied Link and his easy skill; his horsemanship was impeccable and it dwarfed her proficiency and all her years of training.

Zelda had not noticed the night before, but they had already passed through Faron Province and were now halfway through Faron Woods. The scene around them grew more and more beautiful the farther they delved into the forest, the moss thicker and the ground softer. The trees themselves stood sentinel over the concaves of dirt and the barest traces of a well-worn path dispersed through the grass. The light seemed to grow more heavenly, too, in its rarity. The thin beams of sunlight that managed to infiltrate the heavy overlay of branches highlighted the fluttering leaves and dust particles that danced through it. It even smelled organic, like downstream river water mixed with prairie grass and warm wind; it smelled a little like Link, but this comment Zelda kept to herself. They did not speak a word until midmorning, when they reached the southern region of the woods.

At this point, he stopped them for a short break. Zelda happily jumped down from her saddle, anxious to walk off the stiffness in her legs and back. Link did not seem to be paying her any attention, so that when he started to walk off after tethering the horses, he was surprised when she stopped him.

"Wait! May I accompany you?"

His features fell into confusion for a moment before straightening into an impassive expression. He nodded and shrugged but did not wait for her to follow, and she hurried after him, lifting her riding habit to avoid twisting her ankle in the rocks. She did not want to be left alone, and even less did she want him to explore the forest without her.

He moved through the forest's edge fluidly, his light footsteps completely noiseless against the soft grass. He did not travel far and seemed to know way despite the absence of a path. Zelda could not help but marvel around her at the natural beauty and when they reached the destination, a meadow with thick berries bushes bathed in streaks of sunlight, she audibly sighed. He looked over at her with a knowing smirk and set about collecting the fruit.

She meant to ask him why they were collecting the fruit, but the question died in her throat when she thought of how delicious it would taste after a long day's ride. She knew the berries by name and by flavor, of course, but she had never eaten wild ones and her curiosity seemed to flow even into her taste buds.

Zelda bent to help with the task although her mind—always so full of questions—quickly questioned where they would be storing the fruit. But Link pulled out yet another glass bottle from his side and poured the small blackberries from his hands into the jar carefully, spilling not a single one. This stopped Zelda for a moment and she eyed his waist suspiciously.

"How do you carry that bottle without breaking it?" Her interest was so great that she even reached for his belt to examine the small casings closely. He grabbed her hands gently, pushing her away from his waist, and she looked up, blushing crimson.

But he smiled at her and squeezed her hands before releasing them. "The bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom doesn't know?" His teasing only made her scowl and she knitted her brows, awaiting his answer. But he shrugged and turned away from her to finish picking the berries. "Remind me to tell you sometime."

Her lips pursued in dissent but she copied his action and continued to pick. Her ears twitched again uncomfortably, the buzzing whispers of the goddesses clouding her hearing. But even that distraction, coupled with Link's aversion to conversation, could not dispel her inquisitive nature.

"What else do you carry? In that belt?" When he didn't appear intent on answering her, however, she moved around the bushes to face him. "When you fought Ganondorf, you had many weapons at your disposal but I could not see through the barrier well and I wondered where you carried them."

He sighed and looked up at her, a bit annoyed but still polite. "Why does it matter?"

The rebuke was short and rolled off Zelda within seconds. "I would like to know what else you picked up in your travels. They were keys to defeating the wicked, were they not? I shall need to know so as to instruct future generations."

He frowned and the berries in his hands broke, their juices staining his gauntlets. "You believe future generations will be faced with the same evil?" The thought seemed to upset him greatly.

Zelda shook her head to pacify him. "Ganon was destroyed the day you ran him through. Even his Triforce piece seemed to abandon him."

Satisfied with her answer, he nodded, but his expression grew to one of mild frustration when she refused to let his worry change the subject. He paused for a long time, staring at her intently, as though attempting to discern any alternative motives in her curiosity. When he found none, he threw the ruined berries from his hands, wiped their remains on the blades of grass, and reached into his belt, behind his shield, removing a metal object with a hooked claw at the end and a handle on the other. Zelda's eyes grew wide when she recognized it.

"Where did you find a hookshot?"

He looked up at her, surprised, as she stole it from his hands to examine it herself. "You know what it is?"

Zelda nodded without taking her eyes off the item. "It's a variation of the original, to be sure, but it's definitely a hookshot." She grabbed the handle and held it away from herself, pointing it with pinpoint accuracy at a nearby tree branch. Squeezing the handle, she watched excitedly as the clawed end shot toward her target, the long chain extending out fully. But just before the claw wrapped tightly around the wood, Link jumped out and seized her by the arm, pushing it down so that her target missed by a few inches and retracted back. With a firm snap, the claw was back in place, and she looked up at him, offended.

"What did you do that for?"

Link scowled at her and pulled the object out of her hand. "What? Stop you from breaking your neck?"

Zelda glared back at him, folding her arms across her chest. "I knew what I was doing."

Link rolled his eyes and returned the clawshot to its holding. "Then you knew that once it lashed onto that branch it would have taken you with it? Thirty feet across this meadow," he motioned with his hands across the open space, "and twenty feet into the air?"

This fact was one that Zelda had forgotten about in her piqued interest, but rather than admit such she simply continued to glower at him. When he stared back, just as forcefully, she hastily changed the subject.

"What else? What other weapons do you carry?"

Link frowned again. "You seem to know some of them already. Why don't you tell me?"

Zelda wasn't about to lose this disagreement, and so she searched her memory for any of the other items she had learned in the legend of the Hero of Time. "What about bombs? Or perhaps Deku nuts? Or a boomerang?" She grinned eagerly, remembering each item and its purpose. "Have you any of those?"

He stared at her without reaction before he answered. "Perhaps."

Her facial expression, which wore red, brought a short round of laughter from him although he did not move to bring out the weapons in question. She tapped her foot impatiently but he only looked at her, amused. Deciding to switch tactics, she caught him off guard with a sweet smile. "Oh, I see. The bearer of the Triforce of Courage is afraid?"

The tease was also a taunt and the Chosen Hero huffed in response. But he saw that there was no other way around her.

Link sighed, a bit dramatically, and in one swift motion he pulled out first a bomb, carrying it over his head for a moment before hurtling it across to the other side of the meadow and Zelda watched in fascination and then alarm as it exploded a few seconds later. But before she could compose herself, Link had retrieved several small shells, each containing a single nut that glowed gold, and he threw hard into the ground where they cracked and sent a blinding light into the area all around her. Zelda lost her sight for a moment and also lost track of Link; when she recovered he was standing on the other side of the meadow with a long, rounded piece of wood that he swiftly threw in her direction. She froze in place, watching the switch of wood fly in an oval around her, so close that it rustled her hair, and then back it sailed to Link, who caught it lazily.

This all happened in a matter of seconds, and Zelda was still in awe when Link walked back to her and, unruffled, continued in his task of picking berries. She regained her senses shortly and bent down to help him finish. Her face, she knew, was a red blush now and she tried to seem as nonchalant as possible in the aftermath of such a scene. She decided more conversation would resolve both their embarrassment, much to his dislike.

"How did you discover this meadow? And these berries?"

His back was turned to her but she spied a small smirk playing on his lips at her question. This caught her interest even more. "Not all of my travels required vanquishing evil. I did need to eat every now and then."

The answer was short and not the response she was looking for, so the princess persisted. "So you stumbled upon this place because you were hungry?"

"Luckily, yes. But these berries are not for us. A woman in the village is rather partial to their flavor and I promised to bring some back when I returned." He turned to her with the bottle so that she could place her small pile into the bottle. "Unless you wanted to try them?"

She eyed the fruit thoughtfully before shaking her head. She had been looking forward to it since seeing the fruit, but the buzzing in her ears reminded her that sampling desserts was not part of her penance. "No, thank you. It's better if I don't."

"Why should it be better if you don't?"

He seemed intrigued by the idea of her abstention and she bit her lip in response. "It just is." She hoped he did not maintain the same level of nosiness that she did because she did not want to get into another disagreement. She refrained from the sweet berries because the journey was one of sacred cleansing; he did not agree with the goddesses to begin with, so he would surely have doubts about the need for such a commitment. Thankfully, he only furrowed his brow and turned to leave the meadow and she followed him shortly, matching his steps.

After they had mounted again, they continued through the woods where the path grew confined again as it twisted around, but Link seemed to know the way instinctively. He shifted in his saddle, looking over his shoulder at her and motioning her closer. She obliged, coming right up alongside him to listen. "What is it?"

He frowned apologetically. "We should hurry through this region to avoid any lingering moblins. Would that be all right?" His phrasing had been careful, as though wishing to avoid any insults to her riding skill and Zelda picked up on it at once. Although she did not care for extreme exertion, she nodded solemnly, understanding the importance of their safety. She did not doubt that Link could handle the monsters if necessary, but it was always better to avoid bloodshed, even if that blood was tainted green.

He gave her a small smile and a curt nod. "Follow my lead then, and don't stray from the path. We'll be in the clear once we reach the next open expanse." She signaled her understanding and took a deep breath, as though she were the one about to sprint through the narrow path and not her horse.

Link turned back in his saddle, tightening his hold on the reigns. He growled, ushering his horse forward and into a gallop and Zelda did the same, focusing her attention on his exact path and ignoring her surroundings. She tried not to shudder as she watched the scenery fly past her in a whirlwind of colors and sounds mingled with the various enemies that barely noticed their presence until they had already disappeared around the next bend.

She recognized the opening at once and brought her horse to a slow trot, straightening up when she saw Link ahead of her, calmly patting his horse's flank and ruffling her mane. He turned expectantly toward her. "Are you all right?"

Zelda moved next to him. "Of course."

He smiled, gesturing toward the area in front of them. Zelda gasped when she realized that the entire area was surrounded by a violet mist which obscured her line of sight; she could only guess where the tree trunks stood because of their height. "The fog here is harmful, but no longer deadly. Stay close beside me here until we reach the other side, all right?" He chuckled a little when he noticed her fluster. "What's wrong?"

She frowned at him and then at the purple haze. "What do you mean, no longer deadly? How did this come to be here?"

Link hesitated a brief second before shaking his head. "It's a long story, but I suspect now that Ganon has been defeated the malevolent forces are not as strong as they once were. We will be fine, though; darkness is only driven out with light, not more darkness." He reached onto his right side, away from Zelda, and procured a lantern, already lit. He smiled again at her bemusement and held out his arm, swinging the lantern between them. "Take my elbow."

She obliged, holding onto him and her reigns at the same time. He guided his horse through the fog slowly, waiting for the last traces to dissolve before urging another step and then another. He made certain that no harm befell either her or the animals and he seemed to know the best route through the area, despite being able to see more than a few feet around them at a time. Zelda sensed that he was on the lookout for more than just sudden obstacles and she confirmed this when she heard the distant grunts of more moblins hidden out of sight. Half an hour passed and then another half, but Link never lowered his arm or changed his pace and Zelda could not help but admire him for his control.

They reached the other side just as the last pool of oil burned in the lantern, and Zelda turned to watch as the fog moved steadily back into place as though they had never crossed through it. Link lowered his arm and she finally released his arm though she remained closed to his side. Although they had just faced death, it seemed, both seemed unaffected by this gravity and Zelda smiled at Link.

"Well done, Chosen Hero." She emphasized the last words for effect.

He laughed quietly at the title. "My life is but to serve you, Princess." She rolled her eyes at this and he laughed some more.

They continued through the opening, their horses climbing up and over the incline with ease. The sunlight shone brightly in the next region despite the late hour, a world away from the gloomy forest cavern from before. At the end of the area, Zelda could see the mountainside drop off dramatically as it reached an enormous tree trunk that rose from a seemingly endless opening. The winding branches led to a doorway in the center of the tree trunk, upon which was carved a curled formation painted in red. It was a beautiful place and it took the princess's breath away, but the image also filled her with great serenity, as though she had visited this place, blessed by the goddesses, many times.

Link shielded his eyes as he looked over at the sun, which was just about to dip past the mountainside. His frown increased and he ushered Zelda forward, but she stopped him by pulling on his arm. "Wait, Link." He turned to face her, surprised, and she gestured to the sun. "If we enter the grove now we will not reach the Temple before nightfall. It would be better to camp here for another night and then cross the gorge on the morrow."

He looked as though he would like to argue, but at her firm glance he closed his mouth and nodded. "As you wish." Struck by a sudden thought, he turned to examine the space beside the massive tree before them. "We will need to figure out how to get to the Sacred Grove anyway. I think my usual means of transportation has flown the coop."

Zelda laughed heartily at that. "We won't need to use cuccos if we wait until tomorrow."

"How did you know that I used cuccos?" Link looked at her suspiciously, surprised by her statement. Zelda bit her lip and cast down her eyes, unaware that she had even known that fact to begin with.

"I'm not sure. I think I've just…always known that." He looked suspicious still, so she hastily added, "It was a guess then." She pushed her horse forward to pass him so as to end the line of questioning.

Exploring the area, Zelda found a small wooden stall fenced off on the other end of the field. Colorful fabric hung on the sides and a wooden perch stood high above two vats, one of fragrant red potion and the other bubbling lantern oil. She saw a lively bird eyeing her warily from a distance, its bright blue hair a mound of feathers on top of its head. She hopped off her horse and stretched her limbs as she walked slowly toward the little shop.

"Be careful! Trill only likes customers and customers who pay well."

Zelda turned back to Link, who still sat atop his horse some yards away, watching her in amusement. She frowned, ignoring his warning as she stepped into the roped off section and approached the liquids, peering into the stand with unabashed interest. The bird to her left squawked merrily, no doubt registering the expensive fabric she wore as a sign of wealth.

"Hey, hey, a customer! Hey, buy something, hey!"

Zelda smiled politely at the bird as she breathed in the swirling scent of the potions. She closed her eyes as her fingers traced the wooden crates nearby, before she shook her head. "How much for a bottle of lantern oil? My companion there has used up all of his."

The bird peered around her to stare at Link, glaring at him from beneath his pouf of hair and muttering under his breath. "Hey, you're with him? Hey, he's a cheapskate."

"Trill, you know I more than paid you back for that bottle of red potion." Link had followed Zelda into the area and gave the bird a reproving look. "Is the name calling really necessary still?"

The bird ruffled his feathers indignantly. "Hey, I call it like it is, hey. A cheapskate is always a cheapskate."

Link frowned and attempted to respond, but Zelda cut him off with a light laugh and a large smile. "Well, be that as it may, I am intent on buying some oil for my friend here, so if you could please refrain from insulting him." She leaned toward the bird conspiratorially. "Besides, he has a short temper, so it's best not to upset him."

Link rolled his eyes, as Zelda turned to him expectantly. "An empty bottle, if you please, sir." He raised his eyebrows but withdrew a bottle from his side, placing it in her palm. "And your lantern, Link."

"I can afford to purchase my own oil, thank you."

Zelda took the bottle from him and waved her hand in disagreement. "It's the least I can do. You journey here on my behalf anyway."

Link did not agree nor disagree, but he still did not retrieve the lantern. "It's on my way."

Zelda had already dipped the first bottle into the oil pail and screwed the cap on when she turned back around. "Please, Link? We might need some for tomorrow anyway."

Sighing, the hero reached around and pulled out the empty lantern as well, moving around her to fill it up himself. He turned to Trill, who had been watching the exchange with interest. "How much for two refills then?" Link asked with his hand already on his pocket.

Trill shook his head stubbornly. "Hey, you don't pay. You're the cheapskate. Hey, let the lady pay."

Link's mouth set in firm thin line at this comment, but Zelda smoothly interjected. "Here you are, Trill. Thank you." She tossed in a golden Rupee and shuffled Link away, trying her hardest not to laugh at his irritated state. He seemed about to say something rude to the bird, but Trill beat him to it.

"Hey, you camp here tonight?" Zelda turned on her heel to face him, still backing away from the stand with her hand on Link's arm.

"Yes, that's right. Why?"

From the distance, Trill called out loudly in order for them to hear him. "Hey, be careful, generous lady. That one not always so nice. Hey, Trill will watch out for you, stop the hanky-panky, hey."

At these words, Link turned around so quickly that he nearly threw Zelda to the ground in his urgent haste to attack the bird. But Zelda laughed so hard that she did fall, and the surprise tumble stole his attention off the bird and placed it solely on her. Her skin was tinged crimson and there were tears in her eyes, but from his angle he could not see her face.

"Are you all right? Zelda?"

He turned her to face him and when he saw her laughing, he nearly dropped her in annoyance. "It's not funny!" He looked over at Trill again, who had spread his wings fully as though beckoning a fight. "That damn bird…"

Zelda reached for his arm, and he turned to help her to her feet, but she still had not stopped laughing. "Oh, please, Link, be nice. He's only trying to help."

Link's brow furrowed and he barked out a laugh. "Trying to help? Are you taking his warning seriously?" Rather than lessening his grip on her arm, however, Link tightened it as he searched her eyes for an answer.

"No, of course not. I would never think that of you. But I've never heard you described in such an inauspicious manner." Her eyes twinkled in amusement and Link huffed again.

"Hmm. Well, we can't all be perfect," he teased, a smile sliding across his lips reluctantly. "Rest assured, I may be a cheapskate but I'm no rogue." He started walking them around the bend to where their horses had wandered. "It might be a better idea to camp on the other side of this knoll tonight, away from prying eyes and loud mouths…" He shot the bird another deadly look as Zelda continued to laugh, her heart fluttering in amusement and respect for the man whose arm she held. If it their roles had been switched, dinner might have been served with a side of bird.


	4. Destiny on Fire

As the hour of twilight descended upon them, Zelda and Link found comfort in each other's company, the usual weary sorrow displaced as they swapped stories across the fire. It was a complete reversal of their first night together; rather than slumping into pained silence, they found tales and anecdotes to break the darkness that might otherwise have trampled on their heavy hearts. It was easy to talk to one another and even easier to listen.

"And what of the fishing pole then? Did Ganon break it?"

Link shook his head, his smile wide and open. "I'm not even sure how it slipped out of my pack, but one moment I was gripping the master sword and in the next I was holding the switch rod, the line dangling in front of me like a toy." Zelda giggled at this, nodding her head for Link to continue. "I sort of panicked when I realized I was unarmed, but when I looked up at Ganon he was completely captivated by the bait so that I couldn't resist casting it around him and drawing his attention away from me." Link's eyes twinkled in the moonlight. "I got a few good hits that way. I'll have to remember to thank Colin and his father for crafting it."

Zelda laughed again, balancing her bowl of soup carefully on her knees. "I can't believe I missed that! It was so hard to make you out through the magical barrier and what with the thunder and lightning and trying to control your horse, I must have lost track of the fight."

Link shrugged. "It got close a few times there, but I think you wore him down nicely beforehand." He nodded appreciatively, but Zelda huffed and drank from her bowl. "Really, I've never seen anyone shoot that well before. How long have you been practicing archery?"

Zelda looked up at the sky, thinking. "I've known archery since I was able to hold a bow and arrow together. It something that just comes…naturally to me."

Rather than pester her about this, Link agreed, surprising her. "Yes, I know what you mean. I had never even held a real sword before I was attacked, and only a few weeks later I was wielding the Master Sword as though it were an extension of my arm."

This mention seemed to spark Zelda's curiosity again. "What of the Master Sword then? Where exactly did you find it?"

Confusion colored the hero's face as he looked over at her. "Surely you know where. You were the one who told me about it."

"No, I knew of the legend and its general whereabouts, but I had no idea if it would actually be there. Did you find it in the Temple of Time?"

Link nodded once and gazed at her, thinking. "Yes, in what's left of it."

Zelda had been about to drink from her bowl again, but at these words she choked on her soup a little, watching Link in dismay. "What's left of it? Do you mean to say there is nothing but ruins?"

Shifting his weight uncomfortably, Link refused to meet her eyes. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

The air seemed to have escaped Zelda's lungs. Her words came out short of breath. "What do you mean?"

Link bit his lip, answering her question with a different question. "You never told me, Princess, why you decided to venture there in the first place. Why are you going there?"

Zelda remained silent for a moment, setting her bowl down carefully and untwisting her cloak from around her knees, breathing in the cool air to dissipate the heat in her cheeks. She did not want to discuss the topic with Link, when he seemed so set against spirituality in general. But she couldn't ignore him even if she wanted to, and so she decided to be as vague as possible in her answer.

"I'm visiting the temple to see if there are…any clues there, about the fate of the kingdom. I don't want another misfortune to befall Hyrule if there are warning signs to be read somewhere."

"I've been there, Zelda, I've explored it several times." Link folded his arms against his chest, displeased. "There are no signs there about the fate of Hyrule."

"Perhaps you just weren't looking carefully."

Link shook his head slowly. "Perhaps. But then I've made it my interest to know every detail about this land, and I've never seen anything there."

But Zelda would not be beaten. "Then why did you agree to accompany me here? If you knew I would find nothing?"

Link clenched his fists around his arms, crossing them over his chest, slightly annoyed. "Why must you question everything?"

Zelda laughed at this, but with less humor than she expected. "One's first step in wisdom is to question everything—and one's last is to come to terms with everything."

Link's mouth tightened into a thin line, his jaw clenching. "Then you ought to come to terms with what I've told you: there is nothing there."

In response, the princess huffed indignantly and crossed her arms across her own chest, not realizing she had mirrored his movement. "There is something there, Link. You would not be able to discern it as I can, that's all."

"And why wouldn't I be able to do that?" The tone of his voice suggested resentment.

Zelda shrugged, not meaning the comment as an insult but distinguishing it as such. "I just mean that I have been trained to recognize objects of historical and spiritual importance, which I must find to benefit the kingdom."

Although her answer wasn't completely honest, he took it as such, although his disposition did not change. "I've found dozens of historical artifacts, my lady, and I know their back story as well as you. And I'm telling you there is nothing there."

He stretched out his arms as though now bored with the conversation before remarking, "Besides, what lessons can we learn from the goddesses anyway? They teach us nothing which we do not already know."

Irritation spilt over Zelda in waves as she witnessed his haughty demeanor. So when she did respond, there was venom in her tone. "Perhaps you simply are not listening closely enough."

Link looked at her again across the fire, the flames echoing in his eyes. "And you do?"

Whether he meant it as a direct affront or not, Zelda immediately felt the sting of tears at his words. He had pinpointed the source of her sorrow and guilt as acutely as an arrow hit its target, and she looked away in shame.

Her mind began to run with the treacherous thoughts of her past, the thoughts which had left her nearly paralyzed with guilt during her imprisonment. She had been a prisoner within her own castle, who could only wait until the darkness had been dispelled from her kingdom by a hand that was not her own. It was not enough that she had been forced to surrender her castle, her kingdom, her people to the manifestation of evil, forced to surrender that which she had vowed upon her birth to forever protect, life and time be damned.

No, she had been forced to sit in her room as her entire world slowly disappeared in the torrid rainfall, waiting for the next moment that the Twili Midna and her Chosen Hero would return and bear her good tidings. She had not been free to save her people, or to aid the Chosen Hero and the Twilight Princess. She hadn't been able to even leave the room or else bring more destruction and disintegration to her already failing empire.

And so she had waited, and worried, and grieved, and regretted, and lamented, and felt ashamed. She was the cause of the pain but she was not meant to be the cure—that task would fall to another. Her fate, forever, was to be the princess of Hyrule, locked away in the tower while another battled evil foes, confronted terrible dungeons, and endured every world pain possible before defying all odds and rising above the rubble of the castle as the victor of vice, the savior of the kingdom. She had to wait for another to save her and the kingdom and bear nothing but the terrible emotional and mental sufferings that came from being a woman and being powerless. She had to give all that she had in order to ensure the survival of her people.

The silence seemed to have expanded into the night, and Link sighed, understanding the princess's sudden distress. He shifted to comfort her, but she balled her fists and clenched her jaw, stubbornly positioning herself away from him so that he pulled back, rejected.

Once she had willed her tears to stop, Zelda turned to him in defiance and anger, prepared to affirm her devotion to the goddesses who had all but abandoned her because what else could she do except what she was told? She defied her councilors and her advisors but she could not defy the divinely plans of the heavens. And she would defy Link if he continued to respond in this measure.

Her next words were wrought with spite, so much so that she nearly spat the rejoinder at him. "You are a fool, Link, to think that there aren't signs showing us the way to the future. And you are a fool to think that you did anything which was not already destined for you to accomplish."

Taken aback, Link's voice lowered in confusion and resentment. "What I accomplished, Princess, was saving the kingdom from certain ruin."

"Yes, and for this I am eternally grateful," she retorted, sarcasm dripping from every word. "I'm honored to have been rescued by you, Chosen Hero."

Link stood, his fury propelling his movement. "I'm sorry, Princess, if my rescue offended you. Next time I will be sure to leave you locked up in the damn tower."

Zelda, too, stood up to face him, her fists still balled and her face livid. "How dare you! I remained in that tower for the sake of the people! If I had even tried to escape—"

"I've no doubt that your efforts were nothing short of honorable, Princess, but don't think you were the only one who suffered during your imprisonment. I, also, sacrificed a great deal. "

This statement pacified her briefly and she felt her anger slowly disperse. It was as if her soul knew better than the way she was behaving, and her temper simmered as she was flooded with memories again. "I know the trials you faced and the things you suffered, Link, and I am sorry for the pain you have felt since. But my sacrifice was destined by the goddesses, as was yours."

Link gritted his teeth and looked away, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "I am in control of my own destiny, and the goddesses have no influence over me."

"The goddesses have every control over the both of us, Link! Our entire kingdom is based on that ideology!"

But the hero folded his arms, stubbornly shaking his head. "You followed their counsel before, Zelda, and look what happened. You ought to ignore them, if you ask me, and refrain from seeking out their advice ever again."

Zelda took a step closer to him, and her fists relaxed in her revelation. "That's the point of this entire journey, Link. I am going to the Temple of Time tomorrow to seek their favor and beg their forgiveness. I must repent for my sins against this kingdom and seek their insight into what trials might befall us again." She took his hand in hers and he looked up into her eyes. "It would be wise for you to accompany me."

A moment's pause followed this announcement when suddenly Link pulled away from her as though burned. He pierced her with a stare so intent, so full of fury and disgust, that Zelda looked away, ashamed of her interference. When she looked back up he was gone.

Zelda moved about the fire, ready to follow, but then thought better of it. He would need time to come to terms with the arrangement; if he was to accompany her the rest of the way he needed to know what she would be doing there once they arrived.

But it was infuriating to think that he would be so blasphemous to offensively dishonor the goddess, and also to try and persuade her to do the same! She had assumed he knew all about honor and duty, given his fate and his determination to protect the kingdom regardless of the costs, but it appeared they had different ideas about what constitutes sacrifice and responsibility.

Sitting before the fire, Zelda's cheeks stained an even darker crimson and she decided to take a walk about the area to cool off. She headed in the opposite direction that Link had ventured, choosing instead to examine the area next to the Forest Temple so that she might gauge the level of magic necessary to cross the gorge. It would be a difficult path for her to traverse, even more so if Link should decide to go with her. But the thought of him purposefully leaving her to her own measure sadden her more than it incensed her, and she hoped that he would at least respect her enough to accompany her, even if he disagreed with her reasons for going.

She resolved not to dwell on the hero for longer than necessary in the case that he chose not to escort her the rest of the way and ended their meeting early. It was already a cruel loss to see him walk away, especially in anger, especially when it seemed to happen so often, but there was nothing she could do about it, and she doubted she would regardless. They were worlds apart, and yet they were the same; both so stubborn, both so temperamental, and both wrapped up in their own world that they failed to see the other clearly, although nothing separated them, not even time or place. Only the intervention and will of the goddesses kept them from knowing one another and they always ought to have known each other. But she knew the story behind that as well.

A single tear slide down her cheek, but Zelda brushed it away. She would not dwell on that which she could not have. She would remain respectful toward Link, she would treat him like she treated every member of her kingdom, and she would distance herself from him as soon as the journey was completed. It was the only way to ensure the prosperity of Hyrule, the goddesses would say. It was the only way that both of them could live.

The moonlight lent an eerie and strange glow to the surface, and with her fair eyes Zelda was able to see things more clearly than she expected. She wandered to the other side of the valley, passing by Trill's stall. Bathed in blue light, the crates and barrels that lined his alcove seemed sharper, harsher, and she wrapped her arms around herself as she passed, noticing that the bird rested under the flap of his wing and wishing she could do something of the same.

Once she reached the edge, she let out an audible gasp at the beauty of the canyon, so deep that the light spirits themselves could not fill it. She was critical of the way tree rose from the side of the valley, the way the bark curved, so smoothly, away from the ledge. She analyzed the distance between the branches, measuring in her head the amount of energy it would take in order to navigate around to the secret entrance to the Sacred Grove. How she had known it would be there was a mystery, but then it must have been a part of the everlasting knowledge she maintained beneath her general memory.

In fact, Zelda's wisdom seemed to permeate time and space itself, and she was just beginning to understand it. When invoked, she conjured such lasting and tangible memories and experiences as to puzzle her exceedingly. The memories seemed to reveal themselves when Zelda approached the area or person or creature in question, but when she did meet them it was as if she had always known them, everything about them. It was wisdom from lifetimes that she could not attest to and yet she knew with alarming clarity. And it was not only her own previous lives that she drew knowledge from; hadn't she known significant details about Link, even though she had only known him now for a few days?

What she did know about him she knew through story, sometimes even legend, so that his disposition, countenance, and even temper were foretold before he had emerged as a man and not merely a beast. She knew just as much about him as she did about herself, because from the first moment that she had looked into his eyes, despite his feral appearance, she knew him without knowing him; she could guess, with certain accuracy, the way he would respond to certain questions, the things that would catch his eye, and even his inclination for constant movement and action. She knew these things before she had even spoken with him, and when she realized how deep a connection they shared she was not filled with surprise. Their stories were parallel, rooted deep within the very plains of Hyrule and mirrored in the stars.

And yet, there was so much she didn't know about him! Why was he so polite and distant from her one moment and then warm and friendly the next? Why did he allow his anger to surface so often and so fully? Why was he so contemptuous of the goddesses? What had he faced before she had joined with Midna? What creatures and evils haunted his thoughts and plagued his dreams? What was his life like before the descent of Twilight? What was it like now? All her memories of him were from a forgotten past and she knew nothing of the man that teased her, protected her, and saved her in more ways than one.

She chastised herself for letting her mind wander back to the hero, but it seemed like active effort in keeping her thoughts away from him. So she tried to return her attention to the cliff; after nearly an hour of critically analyzing the slope of the canyon and the path of the trees, Zelda had calculated exactly how to cross the gorge the next day. When her brain finished that engagement she felt an acute loneliness pervade her heart and she turned away from the cliff, looking around her for some source of comfort.

And she could see that comfort clearly, shadowed in the fire ahead of her: Link had returned to the campsite. Hurriedly she returned to him, afraid of what he might say to her now but more afraid of being away from him for longer than necessary.

When she reached the fire, the hero did not turn to greet her, and for a moment she wasn't sure if she would startle him by moving to sit on the log beside him. Cautiously she moved out of the shadows, more of out concern for him than for her safety, but her eyes were so focused on him that she did not notice the tree root dug out of the earth. Her ankle caught it squarely and she stumble forward, stretching out her hands to block her fall with little more than a sudden gasp and sharp grimace.

But his arms caught her before she hit the ground and she opened her eyes, surprised at the sudden stop. He pulled her to her feet, his arms still wrapped around her, and looked into her eyes as though able to tell through them whether or not she was hurt. Opening her mouth to express her gratitude, she found the words stuck in her throat.

They stood for a moment staring at each other and an understanding seemed to descend upon them, dissolving any anger that might have been left before. Zelda knew, without knowing, that Link would accompany her the next day, and her lips turned upward in a brief smile that he returned, releasing her gently.

"Always in need of rescuing, aren't you?" The light in his eyes reflected the tease and Zelda knew she could not get angry over the thought ever again. He might tease her for the rest of their lives for being the damsel in distress but it would no longer vex her. It felt like an old joke.

"So long as you are the one doing the rescuing." As soon as she said it, she turned away in embarrassment, not understanding how such a thought had slipped from her mouth. Rather than focusing attention on it, however, Link smiled and sat down, motioning for her to sit by his side.

She sat and held her hands before the fire, only just realizing how much the cold had sunk into her joints and fingertips. They sat in silence for a time, both simply staring into the fire as they let the reality of their disagreement burn to ashes until it was nothing. Link seemed content to keep his peace, and Zelda, for once, obliged, so that they settled into the quiet like old friends who had already shared everything they had missed and now shared silence instead.

Eventually, from the corner of her eye she could see Link shuffling through his saddle bags, apparently looking for more than one object as he pulled each piece out, one by one. First there was cloth, then a bit of liquid held in one of the glass jars, then a sharpening stone she surmised would be used for his sword. But when he pulled out a larger piece, the moonlight glaring against the golden shine, Zelda gasped and looked at him in incredulity.

"Where did you come across that magic armor?"

Her tone must have been a little accusatory, for Link immediately straightened and shifted his weight, his tone flat in his response. He held the armor closer to his knees. "I didn't steal it, if that's what you mean."

Zelda exhaled sharply, her eyebrows screwed up in response. "My apologies, Link, I did not mean to suggest that you had. I merely wondered where you managed to track it down."

Link looked at her, still a little suspicious but his gaze now laced with uncertainty. "I purchased it from the market in Castle Town, some months back."

"You _bought_ it?" Zelda felt her mouth hanging open and promptly shut it in haste, mentally chastising herself for her lack of propriety. Link only laughed a little.

"Yes, I bought it. Quite an exuberant price for it, originally, but when Malo—he's a young boy from Ordon—when Malo set up shop he arranged prices to drop to a reasonable level for all saleable products. This armor was among them."

"But you bought it? That is to say, it was simply sitting in that shop, waiting to be acquired?"

Link shrugged. "Waiting to be acquired by someone of considerable fortune."

Zelda raised a brow. "And are you a man of considerable fortune?"

Laughing again, Link answered, "I am a man who has made a considerable fortune." Seeing a dubious frown on the princess's face, he hastened to explain. "Do not mistake me, your highness. Hidden deep within the recesses of this earth lie untold amounts of treasure that, in my adventures, I happened to stumble upon." Beseechingly, he smiled. "I really am an honest man."

Zelda folded her arms across her lap and raised her chin. "I know that."

He stared at her with that piercing gaze that made her a little cold, or perhaps a little warm, inside and she looked down into the fire in order to escape his knowing eyes. She did not like not knowing the truth, especially as the Triforce of Wisdom bearer. So without looking up, she continued with her train of thought.

"May I see the armor? Please?" There was a moment's pause in which the hero hesitated, but when he saw the animation in her eyes he sighed and removed the armor completely from his bag. He knelt before her, propping the armor up for her to examine closely before allowing her hands to grasp it fully. He looked up in time to see Zelda gasp at its glamour.

Made from the hardest gilt, the armor shone brightly even against the moonlight, the intricate carvings and stripping each procuring more light than should have been possible in their recession. The metal was gold, but the cloth itself silk linen dyed a deep stain of crimson, which wrapped neatly around silver chain mail. Below the torso sat the emblem of the Triforce, sunk deep into both the silk and the mail as though branded into the armor itself. Zelda's fingers traced the ornate insignia set around an emerald stone in the middle of the chest. In Link's other hand there sat a crown and cap, a cross between the hero's cap that Link had before donned, and the crown which normally adorned the princess's head.

Her touch seemed to make Link ill at ease, as though he was wearing the armor as she lightly caressed each node. But Zelda failed to notice this. Her hands stopped at the emeralds embedded within the helmet and the chest plate and she looked up quizzically at him as she spoke.

"Tell me, Link. What do you know of the legend of the Hero of Time?"


	5. Armor and Anamnesis

_Hello again! If you are reading this, then hopefully you've finished the first four chapters of my story (otherwise, what are you doing here? go back to the beginning!).Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far; I'm glad of the response this story has received, and I apologize for not addressing each of you individually._

_Anyway, a quick author's note: this chapter is where I diverge from the generally-agreed-upon and mostly-accepted version of the Zelda timeline. I've taken several liberties with the story and made it my own; most of it stems from ideas that popped into my head while playing TP, the rest from careful research. Anyway, just keep all that mind while reading: author's creativity trumps all._

_There will be at least three more chapters after this one, possibly four or five if I get lengthy and include an epilogue. Just as a heads up for those who have been waiting long. (If you think this is a long wait, though, be grateful you haven't read my Aladdin multi; it's about five chapters, five years in the making and still incomplete!)_

_And remember, review, review, review! It's what Zelda would do. ;)_

* * *

"What do you know of the legend of the Hero of Time?"

Link pulled back slowly as though sickness or nostalgia had overtaken him, Zelda knew not which. She allowed him to remove the armor from her grasp and place it back into the bag, the head piece all that could be seen above the fabric as he folded it carefully into place. It was perhaps a full minute before he looked up at her.

"I know of a past hero, the one whose garb I wore until the defeat of the evil lord. I know he worked, through the days and the nights, the weeks and the months, to battle countless demons and foes so that the land of Hyrule could be safe again." At Zelda's rousing nods, he continued. "There were also tales of elemental sages and, if the legends tell rightly, of an ocarina which could alter the flow of time."

Zelda nodded and her smile grew wide. "The Ocarina of Time."

"Yes." Link looked down at his boots again, lost in thought. "I've heard bits and pieces of the legend, but never the full story." His voice became hopeful. "Would you tell it to me?"

Zelda opened her mouth to respond and shivered against the cold. She looked at Link, who stood directly to fetch more wood for the fire. It was going to be a long tale.

When he sat down again, Zelda shifted a little towards him and towards the fire, for warmth. The memories began to circle in her head as though draining from her mind to her lips, but whose memories they were and whether they were real she could not ascertain. She decided that like all good stories, she would start at the beginning.

"Time and distance have a way of distorting truths, but there are certain facts of which we may be certain." She drew herself up and looked Link squarely in the eyes. "So much sorrow and pain has this land seen, but not without many triumphs and joys to counterbalance that which evil hath wrought." For a moment, Zelda contemplated these words and their implication seemed to soak up the warmth of the fire. But Link leaned a little closer to her, as if giving comfort to the storyteller might prompt more story, and she looked up to smile brightly at him, forgetting her enigmatic manner.

And so she told him of the tale of the three goddesses and their earthly descent; how the land of Hyrule was carved in their likeness using strands of wisdom, courage, and power; how they designed nature and order and even the very races that wander the kingdom by replicating their own imagery. She told him of how they left their mark on the land, the sacred Triforce, which encapsulated all divinity that the world might and should possess, a mere sample of the goddesses' might. She described how that relic was stowed way in the Sacred Realm, to be closely guarded and protected from the covetous greed of human nature, a greed that the goddesses themselves intended. This greed was the root of all evil in the land of Hyrule but it was also the root of all good, granting gluttony to the destined wicked and grace to the destined virtuous.

She told him of the strange dreams felt by the princess of Hyrule, who awakened one morning to find that the disturbances she felt personified in the form of the evil Gerudo King, Ganondorf. This man was bound, just like the princess, to the goddesses but his purpose in the kingdom was not for amity but animosity, not for harmony but for cacophony—though in his own way, he brought balance to the realm. For without vice, the princess of twenty wisely noted before the fire and hero, there can be no virtue.

"But there was a hero, born amongst the flames and raised beneath stars, who lived as a child in constant childhood, his companions and playmates the Kokiri who never got old and who never left the forest. His journey began when he turned eleven, when he could barely contain his excitement at finally finding a fairy friend. He was asked to retrieve three spiritual stones from the races of Hyrule and to deliver them to the princess, who would in her own power protect the holy Ocarina of Time and its song from the clutches of the evil king.

"The princess escaped the castle when the evil king killed her father and assumed control over the entire sovereignty. But the boy, the hero, was given the instruments necessary to open the door to the Sacred Realm and with its power destroy Ganondorf, only in this task neither the hero who was courageous enough to do it nor the princess who was wise enough to foretell it could have expected that their time was too early, or too late, it was not really clear. When the boy pulled the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time, his soul, spirit, and body were locked away, deep within the Sacred Realm, while the evil king followed and brought hell into Hyrule.

"When he awakened, seven years later, he did not know himself let alone the land he was intended to save. It was changed; it was a nightmare. Ganondorf had used his power to weaken the people, devastate the land and the water and the sky, so that everything that grew was wicked and everything that died miserable. It was such because the evil king was not balanced, was not wise and brave and powerful all at once. The Triforce, being a relic of unspeakable force that did not bend to the whim of mere mortals, then broke into three pieces which branded themselves, forevermore, into the flesh of the hero and the princess, those who maintained the concentrated traits of wisdom and courage that of necessity balanced the last fragment of divinity.

"The hero saw all this but was filled with more hope than the rest of the people, because he was told, by one of the Sage of Light, that if he could awaken the rest of the ancient Sages, they, in their united power, could overthrow the evil king. And so the hero set to collect the medallions of the six sages who dwelled within the hidden recesses: one in the deep forest, one on a high mountain, one under a vast lake, one within the house of the dead, and one within a goddess of sand. The other medallion he had been given, just for growing up, and he took this all with gravity and levity."

Zelda told Link that when the hero completed this task, she revealed herself: the princess, transformed from a strong, shadowy warrior into the beautiful and wise ruler she ought always to have been. And then the evil king found her—he had always known, hadn't he?—and hid her in the castle, waiting for the hero to return so that the pieces of the Triforce could be reunited and returned to his hand. Then he would bear ultimate power. But the hero was too strong by then, too valiant, too heroic, and with the grace of the princess they locked the evil king away in the Sacred Realm for an eternity, or from memory, or for a lifetime, whichever one lasted.

Zelda took a deep breath to calm her nerves. These memories of the past flooded before the princess's eyes, all of them, even the ones that the ancestors had forgotten, so that Link, the Chosen Hero, began to see their reflection dimly against the moonlight. He saw in her eyes memories that she should not have known, and did not know, except that they were there and so was she. He saw these things and felt a strange stirring in his chest, which extended out to his limbs and fingertips, fluttering his own eyes shut and passing through him like a sickness or a sudden spirit. Because his eyes closed, he did not see that the same feeling had also passed over the princess that sat by his side.

Suddenly, against the flames and in the streaks of moonlight, Link and Zelda both were consumed with an explosive burst of energy, as though they had been jolted awake from a long, long nap. Their limbs shook from disuse and they blinked several time, rapidly, seeing for the first time what they had not been able to see for a long time. Despite the darkness, they found each other, sitting so close that it startled them, and they looked at each other as their mouths fell first in shock and then up in a smile that grew brighter than the moon and the fire put together. The light in their eyes helped them to recognize each other; this was not the Link and Zelda, the hero and the princess, of just one generation, but the protagonists of so many different stories that they had lost count.

Their anamnesis was complete; their very old souls sank deep into their skins and felt whole again.

And then, just as abruptly, their spirits sank and disappeared so that they were once again pieces of a puzzle, lost in the colorful array of nature and heaven and life. They were just Zelda and Link again, the Chosen Hero and the young princess who battled against the Twilight. They were just where they had been, lost in the story and so Zelda carried on with the story, with Ganon's defeat and the return of harmony to the kingdom. They both forgot what they had only just recalled and except for a painful, incessant buzzing in their ears as the goddesses quarreled, nothing had changed.

Zelda spoke loudly over the buzzing. "And though the evil king had been banned, the last thread of his evil empire severed, the princess felt only sorrow in her heart. She had taken away the hero's life, bound him to such a cruel fit of destiny, and she thought that she could reverse it. She played the Song of Time once more and the Hero of Time returned to his former past, before his name was called by the winds and the trees and the stars, before the land had been torn apart. But still, he remembered all of the things which he had seen and done, the enemies he had slain and the people he had saved, and he returned to the castle to see if the princess remembered as well.

"When he saw her again, it was at the same window, in the same courtyard, facing the same dangers, but this time they worked to amend their mistake, to stop the evil before it spread. The sages knew, and so they locked the evil king away until one day when they feared that he could never be stopped, and had him executed and banished into the Twilight Realm. And you remember what happens from there."

They sat in silence for a moment as the flames, unbeknownst to them, cackled at their story, knowing all the parts which they did not understand but unwilling to share it with them.

Zelda was the first to recover and she shifted her weight on the log as she weighed her words. "You might be wondering why I mentioned that story." Her brows rose as she looked him. He merely shook his head and smiled.

"Actually, I was wondering first how you came to know it. How could you know what the princess and the hero knew when they had returned to a time in which none of it had happened?"

Zelda, the newest and most naive of the incarnations of Zelda, smiled and shrugged lightly. She told an answer that she did not know was only a half-truth. "Well I suppose it helps that my great-great-grandmother was the first Princess Zelda, and it was she who lived that story I just told you."

Link gasped in surprise. "Your great-great-grandmother? Then the story you told was passed down to you?"

Suddenly, Zelda wasn't so sure. She averted his gaze for a moment, thinking hard. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

"So there truly was a Hero of Time? And the Princess Zelda…"

"…Is a name that is taken by all princess of Hyrule who bear the symbol on their right hands." She held up her fist for him to see, the clenched skin stretching tightly to reveal the pattern of gold and white.

Link twisted his neck to look at her sideways. "And a new hero is chosen, then? When in times of need?"

Zelda nodded and then bit her lip. Again, the most truthful answer seemed to avert her and her certainty wavered. She spoke from the suddenly cloudy mess of her mind. "There is a…bloodline. But the genealogical remnants being what they are, it is difficult to trace. There are historians, however, who believe that the descendents of the hero of time can be found living today." Her eyes fluttered a bit as she looked at him. "You are such a descendent, I think. It is in your blood."

Link looked away, his left hand clenching also into a fist so that the gold and white mark appeared visible even in the shadows. "And also on my hand."

He had known it all along and yet refused to acknowledge it until that moment, but the knowledge did nothing to alleviate his burden, only to infuse it with ancient curse. He released the hold and looked back at her. "So what does this have to do with the armor?"

Link might have detected a pink blush blooming across the Princess of Hyrule's face, but if he did he did not comment. She answered hastily.

"Please present the armor again, and I may show you."

Link bent down again to pull the metal from its cloth and he placed in on the log between them so that it was plainly visible in the night. His hands traced the markings again as Zelda pointed to each of them.

"You see the Triforce marking here, imprinted in the cloth? That shows that the armor was designed by the sages themselves, because they place this marking on any sacred article which they have approved." She looked him briefly when she asked the next question. "Link, can you recall the crown that I usually wear? The jewel that is in its center?"

Link looked up at her and then her forehead and tried to picture it in his head. He saw it when he looked back at her eyes. "It's a sapphire."

Zelda nodded, mentally pleased with his memory. "Yes, and its shape matches the shape of this imprinted stone." She pointed to the helmet. "There are other sapphires used in the design of my royal garb, which acts as both gown and armor. The design is all very similar to this." She pointed to the many flourishes across the torso and shoulders of the covering, and to the large emerald that sat in the middle of the chest plate. "So this armor must have been commissioned for use by the Royal Family, a long time ago." Her hands landed on the two emeralds and she caressed them lightly with her fingertips. "These stones, actually, tell the real date of design. I know my garb to have been sewn following the death of the first Princess Zelda, my great-great-grandmother. I believe that the sapphires in my crown are from Zora's Sapphire, one of the three Spiritual Stones needed in order to open the Door of Time."

Link started for a moment and stared up at the princess. "But why would the sapphire be used for the crown?"

"Well, the different colors of the spiritual stones denote the three goddesses: red for Din, blue for Nayru, and green for Farore. My patron goddess, the patron goddess of the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, is blue; and it is believed that the patron goddess of the Hero of Time, and subsequently his descendents, is green."

Link realized what she meant in an instant, and his hands slipped from the armor as if burned. "Green like the Spiritual Stone of the forest, the Kokiri's Emerald!"

Zelda nodded, and she patted the emerald on the helmet. "Which is what this is, I think. I know that after the defeat of Ganon, the three races chose to deliver the stones to the Princess of Hyrule, for it was through her efforts and the efforts of the Hero that the lands and the races had been kept safe. The Gorons and the Zoras and the Kokiri feared that they would again be attacked, threatened, for the sake of the jewels and wished to be rid of them. But the princess did not want the stones just lying about, and so she instructed that they should be mounted into the armor of the Hero of Time, who had become her general, and her own royal garb; in this way, Ganon or any other malevolent force would need to take the jewels from the princess and the hero directly—an impossible act, really, for the bearers of the Triforce pieces."

Link curled his hand to his mouth, thinking hard about the revelation. Zelda waited patiently for him to digest the information as she examined the armor carefully. She was brought back to attention when the hero questioned her.

"What of the Goron's Ruby, then? Ganon does not possess the final stone, does he?"

Zelda shook her head with a heavy sigh. "That stone disappeared soon after the Goron race delivered to the castle. It may be with Ganon or it may be lost, hidden in the land of Hyrule."

Silence passed over them again for a time, and they both stared at the armor, taken aback. But then Link furrowed his brow and indicated toward the helmet. "Why does this piece resemble your crown? All other helmets I've seen worn by royal soldiers are not shaped like this."

Zelda tried to stop her smile from spreading, but it was this question which had brought the blush to her cheeks before and she could not help but feel pleased in telling the story. She took the helmet in her hands, holding it reverently. "This is the final piece to the puzzle. The design of this crown tells the rest of the story." She looked at Link with bated breath. "Have you heard what became of the hero and the princess after they defeated the evil king?"

Link shook his head in the negative and his eyes narrowed even in the darkness. Zelda turned back to the crown and her words rushed like a river.

"The hero and the princess grew up together, commended both for their wisdom and their courage. She studied the bloody histories of the seven kingdoms, learned the various languages and their dialects, and aspired to be a philosopher and a politician and a poet all at once. The hero enlisted in the army and through his own endeavor succeeded in securing the highest ranking position granted to a commoner. But with Zelda's insistence he soon became the General of the Army, training the many knights all he knew in the ways of combat and it was through his leadership and counsel that the kingdom of Hyrule was the best prepared for full warfare that never came."

Zelda's hands cupped the crown of the helmet and she turned it for Link to better see. "The crown like figure on the helmet was an act of defiance to Zelda's father, who did not want the Hero to be his successor. But when the hero rode into battle or on a diplomatic mission or in parade for the people, he wore the crown of royalty and it was clear that the connection between the princess and the hero had never been stronger. They had only twenty years to each their names, but their deeds and their destinies were timeless.

"In their bond grew something deeper, something that was first friendship and then later a blossoming and mighty love. But when the princess grew to the age of marriage, her father refused to accept the Hero of Time as a potential suitor, though the sovereign's own life had been saved in the many daring deeds accomplished by the hero. He saw the hero as a commoner, never worthy enough for the princess, and to this news the couple was dismayed. But the king was not wholly unjust, and so he bade the couple to seek the guidance of the goddesses in the matter. If the three goddesses granted the couple their blessing then the wedding would proceed." Zelda's hands began to tremble suddenly, and she slowly placed the helmet back upon the log. She looked out into the darkness as the scene enveloped her vision.

"So the princess and the hero ventured into the Temple of Time, which during the reign of the King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule resided within the castle town, and went about their separate prayers. The contemplation took more than a day, but when the hero and the princess departed the temple, the entire court and city watching in tearful silence, they were never to speak to each other again. The goddesses could not grant their request and warned the lovers from engaging in their affection, for if they did it would be a sinful defiance with fatal consequences for both the princess and the hero and the entire kingdom at large. One would be destroyed, or both, or all three and each of these possibilities was the greatest fear for the couple and so they depart left without so much as a goodbye or an angry cry or a soft tear."

Zelda sighed, closed her eyes, and wearily shook her head. "The princess agreed to an arranged marriage to a prince from Holodrum, and with him she bore five sons, the oldest of which became the heir to the throne and ensured the survival of the royal bloodline. The hero returned to Hyrule Field and married a ranch girl who had always loved him; when his wife gave birth to the first of his two sons, the hero moved his family to a developing village located outside his childhood home in the forest. The princess and the hero saw each other but thrice more in their lives, always in passing and never for more than a few moments. But they treasured these meetings deeply and in these times their melancholy spread to every man, woman, and child, so that the entire kingdom knew their grief as acutely as they knew their own."

Link opened his mouth to impose a question, but Zelda seemed to know what he asked. "You wonder how their sadness affected all of Hyrule? It was through the nature of their bond; they were inextricably linked to the land and to its people, so that when the princess and the hero suffered the people suffered, and when the princess and the hero triumphed the people triumphed. My grandmother, before she passed, told me that when she was young, she often experienced inexplicable sorrow during certain times of the year and when she asked the Queen Zelda I about it, her grandmother, she was only answered with a sad smile and heavy lie. 'Do not worry, child. Sorrow is one of the vibrations of this land that prove that we are living.' It was the only comment she ever made about it.

"And when the queen passed one autumn, every citizen of Hyrule, of every race and every class, experienced anguish so deep that they thought their hearts would tear. They lined up before the Temple of Time for hours, praying for the soul of the departed sovereign while they watched the royal procession deliver her body into the church and then the tomb. They waited for hours and hours, and only with the arrival of heavy rainfall and thunder by the goddesses did the crowds disperse.

"But my grandmother saw, from the high rise windows of the castle balconies, a dark stranger with grayed golden locks stealing into the temple. She followed him down, past the rows of wooden chairs and worn carpet, past the scattered light from the colored glass, all the way to the back of the temple where the tomb stood. And she watched as the stranger knelt before the tomb of her grandmother with tears in his eyes, his hand grasping the cold fingers of the queen. He withdrew a single forget-me-not from his tunic and when my grandmother blinked he was gone in an instant.

"She knew who the stranger was, but she did not report his appearance to anyone. When the queen had first passed, the royal family sent convoys to relay the information to the hero in the forest, but he was nowhere to be found. Many of the villagers claim he left the forest the day of the funeral and never returned, not to his wife nor his children. They claim he died of a broken heart the same day as the queen."

Silence overtook the pair again and they listened to the cackling of the fire as it slowly died down, lost in their own separate but similar thoughts. The sorrowful story seemed to weigh heavily on their chests, crushing their spirits and hindering their strength of mind. It had always happened whenever Zelda related that story, either to herself in the calm of the evening just before sleep overtook her, or to others who begged her rendition. But her typical listener took the story to heart for only a brief time before shrugging it off and returning to their present endeavor. When she dared to espy Link from the corner of her eye, she thought he was taking the tale a lot harder than expected.

That the story could so affect him make her chest swell against the constraint of the cheerlessness, an unpleasant experience that both contracted and expanded her heart at the same time. She turned to face the hero and he looked up at her with an unreadable expression. It looked like anger but felt like sadness.

"Why couldn't the goddesses let them be? After everything the princess and the hero accomplished, why couldn't the goddesses give them that one respite?" As he spoke, his words grew harsher. "They did what was asked of them, didn't they? They protected the land from the one evil that threatened it, the one evil that the goddesses themselves created! Why not include that in their destiny?"

Zelda bit her lip and looked away, the pain in his voice echoing that within her heart. She had often asked the same questions over and over again in her mind, but her faith always led her to conclude that it was not meant to be questioned, that it simply happened and who was she to doubt the ultimate design of the goddesses?

She spoke out to Link to comfort and console him. "Their destiny was—is—to serve the will of Nayru, Farore, and Din. If the goddesses determine thus then every hero and every princess must act accordingly." She looked him square in the eye as she finished. "We must maintain faith and fulfill the destinies laid out for us."

Link opened his mouth to respond, but lost his words; he twisted his lips in a scowl and shook his hand, laughing without mirth. "I am not as faithful as you, your highness, to trust so blindly that which I cannot see or feel."

Zelda shuddered despite the warmth of the fire and the proximity of her companion—or was that coldness coming from him? "What do you mean?"

Link shrugged and busied his hands by shoving the armor and helmet back into the bag. "I believe in the goddess after what has happened, yes, but that does not mean I trust them or favor them." He reached into the fire to shift the last logs into the flame. "They've brought nothing but trouble into this world and for what? Their own petty amusement."

Zelda's hand clenched her chest and she motioned the sign of the Triforce between her shoulders and her forehead at these words. She had known of his distaste for the goddesses, but to hold such contempt for them? "Goodness, Link, that is blasphemous!"

He looked at her squarely, his eyebrows raised. "So?"

Zelda leaned toward him to whisper conspiringly. "Do you not fear retribution?"

Link pursed his lips and stood, rubbing the muscles in his back and neck with his left hand. "I fear nothing." He looked down at her and the flames of the fire danced wildly against his eyes. His temper rose in the space of a second. "And you! Why have you traveled so far to hear the goddesses out? Can't you hear them all the time, whispering damn speeches into your ear that make your head spin?" He turned to her in frustration, but she could see that only half of it was directed at herself.

"Of course I can hear them all the time, that is the mark of a true Hylian!"

"Then you know what they say! And if the stories are true then you know what is destined for you and for me! Why should you journey across half the kingdom to pay them tribute when they have carved out nothing but trial and suffering for your future?" He clenched his fists as his ears twitched, and Zelda could hear the voices of the goddesses buzzing in her own ears as well. But Link rubbed his temples to shut them out. "If you ask me, we don't owe them a damn thing."

Zelda drew a long and heavy breath, trying to ease the sudden tension in the air. "They tell us things in order for us to be prepared, so that we may be best suited to protect the people of Hyrule whose happiness and prosperity we have been charged with. We must keep faith."

Link huffed in resentment. "We? What 'we' is there between us, princess? The goddesses themselves forbid our ancestors from any connection, what makes you think they would change their minds now? The only connection we are allowed to share is to shoulder a responsibility that no single person should be forced to endure."

"That is why we are both charged with it—together."

He looked at her, contempt in his eyes and disappointment on his face. "I never wanted any of this. I never asked for any of this. Our past, our present, and our futures are full of pain and suffering." He clenched his fists again. "Damn the goddesses and their sadistic games."

Zelda looked at him, her mouth open in shock. His character seemed to transform in front of her eyes: he was not only the simple farm boy he had been, but he now seemed wearier, worldlier, as though all his past reincarnations had melded into one strong, stubborn, and spiteful hero.

She was surprised to hear him voice such concerns, especially in the way that he regarded them together, not to mention that his opinion demonstrated his belief in the legend of their past, just as she did. There was no doubt that they were fated for a destiny full of trial, above and beyond any one individual in their history, present, and future. And there was also no doubt that they could not share that fate together; destined to be marked as equals and separate from the rest of humanity, but also separate from each other. The thought was less than comforting.

Zelda could not think of what to respond to this, and her heart ached more and more at the thought that she could never share with Link the sort of connection she would want. He knew the things she knew and he faced the same hardships that she faced; they were bonded in spirit and in disposition, they were united in every way except the way they ought to have been: as a man and woman with a similar past and a cohesive future. They could fight together, suffer together, rebuild together, but never, ever be together. The thought took Zelda's breath from her chest and she felt the sting of tears threatening to overspill from her eyes.

"Link…"

"Goodnight, Princess."

He stood suddenly, just when she prepared herself for discussing the matter, just when she needed him the most. She watched as the shadows enveloped his figure as he walked farther from the fire, until even her sharp eye could no longer discern him from the darkness.

It was the third time in their journey that he had walked away from her in anger, the third time he had simply bid her goodnight and abandoned her to the cold. She remembered his short temper as a facet of his personality, remembered the way it used to irritate her own rage so that they would both be consumed by anger together, but she could not remember where the memory came from or why it came to her then. It was one of those circularly moments in time, she surmised, that made her feel heavy and ancient and weary all at once.

But with the sharpness of this memory came another, just as vivid: Link standing before her at the break of dawn, smiling in a way that made the previous night's argument irrelevant. She knew she could trust him then not to abandon her completely, so although she wished he might have remained closer, she knew he was not so far away. And she knew he would be there in the morrow. So she turned away from the fire and prepared her sleeping habit, kicking his saddle bag and the armor away from herself, not pausing to dwell on the fact that she felt like she had done that before too.

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	6. Time in a Timeless Place

_Sorry for the long wait! Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed thus far. Wouldn't you like to be one of those amazing people and review too? All the cool kids are doing it, you know... I appreciate all feedback, good and bad, big and small!_

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She was not disappointed in the morning. The cold that hung haughtily in the morning air clung to her hair and her skin, stirring her from her slumber like the icy chill of rain. Immediately she sat up, her eyes adjusting to the creeping light, the embers of the fire swirling ash at her feet. It took her a moment to remember exactly where she was, but when she realized that she was so close to the Sacred Grove, so close to her destination, she gasped out loud, full of anxiety.

She had rehearsed her silent speech to the goddesses during the first half of her journey, but what might they tell her in response? What would the goddesses tell her that she did not already know? Would she need to subject herself to more tribulation before the kingdom could be restored? Would they order her to abdicate as they had told her to surrender? And what of the hero—

As the thought ran through her mind, Zelda turned sharply, looking for Link and finding him walking towards her peacefully, fully dressed and equipped and ready to start the day. He must have heard her sharp intake of breath because his mouth had twisted into a slight frown and his eyes scanned her quickly through the misty morning fog. He stopped in front of her, some five yards away.

"Zelda?"

His tone suggested that he asked a question and the princess knew that there were really two questions laced into that one word: was she all right and might he call her by her first name still despite their argument? Zelda smiled lightly and quickly nodded in the affirmative for both. "Yes, it's all right." She slid out of the blanket and rose unsteadily, feeling more of the uncomfortable night than Link appeared to. He hurried forward to steady her and she looked up at his face just as the sun broke over the top of the Forest Temple.

She shielded her eyes from the onslaught of light, but she could read his face easily enough and knew that he was both sorry and hopeful. Sorry that he had walked away, in anger, again, and also hopeful that they might forget about the whole thing and carry on as they had before. So although she would have rather discussed his unreasonable need to distance himself from her whenever they disagreed, she relented and pretended that they had not just slept in two separate camps for an entire night because of a few heated words.

She must have been looking at him with a strange expression because when she pulled back from her analysis and focused on him again, she found him frowning. His prompt emphasized his disquiet. "Rupee for your thoughts?" He asked her, his face full of carefully lined optimism.

Zelda smiled in spite of herself, and her previous anxiety became lighter, more manageable. "I'm afraid my thoughts are worth more than just a Rupee," she teased.

"Well then perhaps I can part with more than one." He retrieved her blankets and promptly stuffed them into her saddle bag which hung over his shoulder. "But you already know I'm a cheapskate."

Zelda laughed and turned to help him gather the rest of her things. "Despite the incredible fortune you've amassed." She handed him her other bag and he threw it over his other shoulder.

"Well, it's not a royal fortune, but it will do." He gave her a quick wink and a soft smile.

The princess rolled her eyes but followed him as he walked toward the horses, which sat surprisingly still as Link approached them. She noticed that he had not saddled them for the day; they would not be able to take them across the gorge and so would no longer need them. Zelda looked around, wondering if the location was safe enough for the horses to be left to themselves. But her inspection caught Link's attention and he answered her as they reached the other side.

"I've given orders to Epona to remain within the area; there's a small spring nearby from which they can drink and plenty of grass to satiate their hunger." He patted the mare's flank gently but she whinnied in irritation, turning away from him and walking to the other side of the area. Zelda was startled at this and so, evidently was her horse; it stood, torn between its master and its new friend, but Link laughed and patted its side too, as though giving it permission to wander off. It walked past Zelda without a second thought.

The Princess stood there a little dumbfounded and her questioning stare only received a small shrug and light laugh from the hero. "Epona's not happy to be left alone in the woods. Apparently, there isn't anything interesting to see or do."

Zelda's brow rose up into her forehead as Link hastened to explain. "I can understand animals…I think it's from my time as one of them. I understand them as they understand me."

The explanation was exactly what Zelda would have surmised on her own. As it was, she merely nodded and took one of the bags from Link, hoisting it over her shoulder. "Well then we'd better hold onto these ourselves. They might come in handy." He looked at her, as though expecting her to question him further, and was surprised when she turned on her heel and marched to edge of the gorge.

On any other day, she might have interrogated him endlessly about this new found connection, but she was so full of apprehension and anxiety that she had little thoughts for anything else but their journey. As it was, she did not look back as she walked, calling out to him over her shoulder instead. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you coming with me?"

He laughed, running his fingers through his hair, and followed her across the way. She smiled and nodded politely as she passed the bird Trill, who sat up at attention, staring suspiciously at Link who was hurrying to catch up to Zelda. "Hey, you okay, lady? No hankey-pankey?"

With Link behind her, Zelda was able to successfully hide her grin from him, but because of this also missed the rude gesture Link gave to the bird. Trill ruffled his feathers indignantly, beckoning again for a fight, but Zelda stopped immediately in her step, grab Link's arm, and rushed them both to the sawed tree trunk that sat sentinel at the crater's edge. Link only grunted indignantly.

They stood side by side, looking over the edge with both trepidation and interest. Zelda, for her part, was concentrating; her eyes grew wide, taking in the entire scene, and then she closed them, holding out her arms in front of herself as though preparing to step clearly off the ledge.

"Zelda?" Link cautiously touched her arm, holding her back, still not certain what she was doing or meant to do. She smiled a little through her focus but kept her arms in front of herself.

"Please, take my hand, Link, and close your eyes."

He obliged immediately, his fingers entwining with hers tightly as though they'd been meaning to all along. Casting one last look at her through narrowed eyes, he closed them, letting out a breath as he did so. They stood together, one waiting for the unexpected and the other willing it to happen with all her might.

"I need you to focus on the journey to the other side. Visualize it for me, Link…"

He nodded, although she couldn't see, and began forming a mental map of the chasm, imagining himself flying slowly to the other side with the help of the bird he'd been given. He saw himself land, in his head, on the other side, and then nimbly cross the many obstacles that still obstructed his path: the low swinging branches, the deadly kargornacks, the hungry deku babas. In his mind, he evaded these enemies as easily as if they weren't there, and he reached the other side without a second glance to the path he'd taken.

Suddenly, the vision inside his head seemed to brighten; colors and lights swirling around rapidly before sharpening and become almost tangible. And then just as suddenly, the vision was stolen out of his head, even though he had not stopped thinking about it; it was as if his memories had been borrowed and his mind only remembered the remembering.

Her hand tightened in his and Link the force of gravity on him lighten; the wind rustling through their hair acted as the only sign that they were moving, for their feet did not tread upon anything by air. Link felt his stomach twist and churn, his muscles tensed as though reacting to a force that he could not see, only feel. And with a loud crack—or maybe it was loud to him because it seemed to come from inside him—he felt his muscles stretch and relax, his skin tingling in the cool breeze and then his feet touched back down and he was still.

Zelda opened her eyes first, knowing exactly what scene would be before them because she had stolen it directly out of Link's head; they had reached the other side. Link, however, stood silent and unmoving with his hand still wrapped in hers, afraid to open his eyes too soon in the case that he might ruin the spell. But Zelda's quiet laugh at his expression, so full of anxiety, made him crack an eyelid open to see what was so humorous.

The sun blinded him when he did, and it took a second for him to adjust to the new light. They were indeed to the other side of the gorge, but how they had gotten there and how long it had taken them, he couldn't be sure. It was seconds to him, but maybe it had taken a few hours—there was no way for him to tell except that the sun was positioned a little bit higher in the sky. His mouth fell open in surprise, and Zelda giggled, stepping forward eagerly with his hand clutched in her own.

"Would you like to take a pictograph? It might last longer."

Link huffed a little, smiling, and released her hand from his. Zelda didn't know if she was disappointed more by this or by his reaction. Rather than being impressed, he seemed to take the transportation for granted and walked ahead of her into the natural opening and into the next area. Zelda frowned but followed; she surmised that he must have experienced something similar to warping before.

Upon entering the next area, Zelda felt her heart warm at the sound of a buoyant melody cascading through the trees and grass, a song long lost but for her memories. She closed her eyes and listened closely; the tune seemed to come directly from the air, surrounding her, gushing around in the sunlight. She opened her eyes to find Link staring at her, his expression unreadable.

"Can you hear that? That melody…I have heard it before."

Link's mouth drew up into a thin line, almost of disapproval, but he nodded once at her question. "I hear it. It played the last time I ventured here as well."

Zelda walked toward him, looking around herself as though trying to discern the source of the music. "Yes, but had you heard of it before then? I know this song and yet I have never been here in this lifetime." She blushed at the end of her sentence and avoided his prying eyes.

"I'm….not sure if I had heard of it before. The first few times I explored this area, I was a little too preoccupied to be focusing on background noise."

Zelda frowned at his choice of words, and brushed past him, displeased, through another opening between two great tree trunks. Particles of dust danced in the streaks of sunlight, bathing the greenery in an ethereal glow that was both natural and supernatural at the same time. The day looked promising for the forest, so aged and antediluvian, that a few of the animals emerged from their habitat to warm themselves, but they were small and few and brought no fear to the princess. Striding forward purposefully, Zelda was sure of her step, but Link caught up to her quickly and motioned for her to remain still.

"There are….creatures in this forest that are as ancient as the trees. We may or may not cross them; usually one leads the way to the temple, but his likes to play tricks." Link studied the curve of the forest, the path leading into a dozen different directions, and even as Zelda looked back around herself, she realized she did not know from which way they had come. Had they gotten so lost already?

"What are we to do, then? How will we know which way to go?"

Link grinned over at her, and motioned all around them. "We follow the noise." Before she could respond in irritation, the hero leaned his head forward, listening to the music that seemed to get louder, even though they had not moved. After a short while, Link took a few steps in another direction, toward a pond, and Zelda recreated his steps behind him, listening hard. She realized that the music had gotten a little bit louder than before, and she looked at her companion curiously, wondering if the difference signified what she thought it might.

Link grinned at her over his shoulder and confirmed her suspicions. "Come on, this way."

And so they walked, and walked, and walked. Through the forest canopy of green and sepia the water ran high, cascading down in sheets when there was a break in the branches. The water pooled around the base of a trees that had sunk low to the ground, and through one area, Link and Zelda had to charge through the pool collected there, stepping slowly as though wishing to avoid further disruption in the perfect calm of the water. As they walked, they seemed to climb higher and higher, to a place where the roots mingled with the grass and the moss and the branches, striking upwards to be free to bask in the warm glow of the sun. In this place, it was easy enough to think there were no seasons, only the warm fall that would slowly bring the forest down.

The music continued to grow, louder and louder until Zelda was sure they would discover the flute-player hidden in the woods. Each area was enclosed, either by tree or by rock, and Zelda ran her hands across the surface of the sides, trying to determine what was made by man and what was made by the goddesses. It was not until they reach a stone opening, carved high and open, did she realize where they were.

"Link…"

Link had walked ahead of her, through the archway that he had crossed so many times before, but at her words he stopped and turned to her as she looked up in wonderment. "What is it?"

She smiled slowly, memories filling her again as she touched the smooth side of the stone that was not carved by nature. "This…it's Hyrule Castle."

He turned to look about the area more, espying the ruins more carefully than he had done in the past. The places had been a building, he was sure, yet he had never stopped to ponder exactly what sort of building it was. He turned to find Zelda standing silently by his side, and at her soft touch to his arm he was suddenly flooded with the memories that had been stirring in her mind, memories that they both had shared and yet had known separately.

They treaded forward slowly, together, looking about the remains as though memories themselves, and yet that was what they were: pieces of an old life that could never be brought back again, but in their minds. The roof of the place was completely gone, replaced by the long arching branches and green leaves of the trees or the clear blue sky. Inside, it was easy to see that the room had been two story; columns ran around the length of the room, equally distant from each other even as they crumbled into the dirt.

Zelda sighed to herself, noting how circular time could be; how far they'd come and yet how much farther they needed to go!

"The castle used to reside here? In the forest?"

Zelda smiled, brought back from her thoughts, and shook her head. "In ancient times, the land of Hyrule was much smaller; but when the Hero beat the evil King Ganon, times were prosperous and the kingdom doubled in size." She looked up at the trees overhead. "Not to mention that with so many years, the land has changed."

"I would have thought the land never changed." Link answered, walking toward a grouping of white rocks on the far side.

"It doesn't, except for those who are there to see it change." She didn't think she needed to add that of the three people she knew who were capable of seeing the change, two were presently having the conversation.

Link bent down to examine what, from a distance, appeared to be rocks; but Zelda had slightly sharper eyes than Link, and knew they were not. Link grasped one in his hand and brought his thoughts aloud. "I've seen skulls like these littered all over Hyrule. But they are not too large for a Hylian."

Zelda smiled sadly and walked over to examine them herself. "No, they are not. Perhaps remnants of that first generation? Creatures from the first battle?"

"Or treasure hunters," Link said, standing up and brushing off his hands. "I've always seen more of them together near temples with hidden treasure."

"Then you should count yourself lucky, that you were able to retrieve that treasure after so many had failed."

Link looked over at the princess and paused thoughtfully. "I wouldn't call it luck that I made it through, more like obnoxious and rude insistence."

He grinned at his own personal, inside joke and walked through the next opening on the left side of the room where a ledge stuck out over another level. Zelda followed, watching her step as she near the edge of the stone, and peeked over the side.

Below them was another great room, oval shaped, and also manmade. There were great stone steps scattered around the room, each one larger than the next, all constructed in an array of shapes; perhaps they had once been the same, and time and weather had simply worn each one down distinctively.

"This was once a great council room, I think." Zelda espied, through the clearing of the ruins, the outline of a large stone, temple and her heart started skipping beats in her chest. "Is this all that's left?"

Link looked over at her, uneasily, never meeting her eyes. He did not respond to her question, instead taking the opportunity to point out a nearby thick of ivy. "Here, you can use this to reach the lower level."

He instructed Zelda as to which vines to grab and which not to; he watched her, anxiously, as she began to make her way down the side, slowly using the side of the stone wall and the branches to climb down. She had moved only a few feet when she looked up at Link, expecting him to follow, and finding him gone from the ledge. Behind her, she heard a soft thud and looked down fearfully, afraid that he had fallen.

But Link looked up at her, earnest, with his arms outstretched as if to catch her. He did not have a scratch on him. Zelda frowned, exasperated at his easy skill and agility, but she continued down the vines on her own, and did not reach for his arm even when she was close enough to the ground for him to help her.

She surveyed the new room carefully, but not for very long; this was not the destination of her journey, and she could examine the site for a historical study later. Right now she was so close to the Temple of Time that her breath started to come out shallow, and she had to remind herself to inhale and exhale. She did not wait for Link as she squeezed through the only opening, marching up the steep slope into another large opening, into the heart of the temple.

Or what was left of it.

Her heart broke at the sight, as all her fears and concern spiraled down upon her in a wave of disappointment and distress. If she was honest with herself, she should have known that this was the way it would be—Link had told her as much before, and she had guessed, through her study, that not much was left of the Sacred Grove. She had hoped he was only exaggerating, that the temple still had some semblance of its former self, hoped it might look the way it once did for her grandmother, and her great grandmother, and all the generations before her. But to see it, with its spire and great hall left in ruins and with nature reclaiming all its pieces, was beyond all imagining.

Link watched her from the side, arms folded across his chest, waiting for her reaction. He paid no attention to the surroundings, knowing the slopes and stones now by heart. His face was carefully composed and he was silent as he stood, expectantly.

Zelda treaded softly into the space, her breathing as shallow as her step, and looked at what was once the great temple of the goddess, the earthly manifestation of their power, the resting place of the Triforce. To her right stood another opening, what first appeared to be the main entryway into the temple, but she could tell, from the sloping on the left side and the doorway there, atop the ridge, that she was already in the temple, and that the door on her right was the Door of Time.

She walked toward this part first, eyeing the large stone guardians that stood in front of the door, one on each side. They were large and fierce, each holding an enormous club in one hand. Zelda noticed that they did not show signs of decay and ruin, like the rest of the temple, but stood instead as frozen keepers, untouched by the weather and by nature, standing testaments to time in a timeless place.

Facing the large guards was a marble inscription of the Triforce, carved in green jade and yellow gold, also gleaming new in an ancient place. There was but a few leaves on the ground, thrown there no doubt by the wind, but the marble was free of dust and dirt, the only sign of disturbance that of a large, boot print scuffed in front of it. Zelda did not have to guess to whom that print belonged.

As she neared the statues, Zelda expected them to move, to spring out in front of her and block her path to the next chamber, but they did not shift in the slightest. She crossed the Triforce symbol slowly, passing between the guardians as though she was not there, or they were not there—perhaps they were no longer needed. But why? Zelda turned to look at Link, still standing in the corner, and saw over his left shoulder the mauve handle of the Master Sword swinging from its scabbard. She did not meet his eyes as she crossed the doorway into the next area.

Two sets of stairs led her up, up, into an expansive and enclosed room, but the chamber was protected not by stone walls, but by nature; the encroaching forest now acted as barrier for the ancient chamber. Even now the pedestal of time was surrounded, centered in the middle of the room that was otherwise empty, and Zelda knew the only way to reach the sword had been through the way she'd just entered.

She approached the pedestal, staring at it with unseeing eyes. It was where it should be, just like the temple, just like the master sword. She had known the purpose of each, and the location, but that had could not help her now. The sword was Link's to keep; but what could she hold of the forgotten past? The place that might have been sacred to her, the temple itself, was lost to the high priestess of Hyrule.

"Why?!" The tears fell freely from her eyes and she brushed them away, angrily, spitefully, full of disenchantment and resentment at her impossible circumstances. "What can I do now, Nayru? Farore? Din? What would you have me do? Pray amongst the dirt and rubble?"

She heaved heavy breaths and looked up toward the heavens, expecting some sort of sign. Her ears twitched uncomfortably again, but the words of the goddesses were only a dull buzzing, with no coherence or clarity in their wisdom. They seemed to be speaking only to each other lately, and this thought filled Zelda's heart with even more despair.

If she was honest with herself, Zelda knew it did not really matter that the temple was not the standing perfection it had once been; she could have just as easily prayed in the middle of the Goron Mines. Her sorrow and frustration was aimed more at what the ruins of the temple actually signified: the goddesses had allowed her ancestors to build them a great temple, to house a great power, and the same goddesses let it fall, destroyed by the power of a man they refused to completely destroy. How many had died before Ganondorf was destroyed by the Hero of Time? And how many died so recently, before that same man was destroyed by the newly Chosen Hero?

She was angered that so mighty a place had fallen, for prophecies that she herself had foretold spoke of the beginning of the end when the last great temple had fallen. She was too late.

The princess of Hyrule fell to her knees before the pedestal, looking at it as though it held all the answers; looking at it as though it would suddenly open and reveal the thing she most desired. And again, a strange sensation of anamnesis stole over her body and she saw both the present and the past collide in a hazy recollection of forgotten periods of waiting, always waiting.

She had done this same act, waited at that same place, for days and weeks and years, anticipating and expecting for something miraculous to happen. She saw herself, dress and hair styled in a strange and foreign manner, watching and waiting, waiting and watching. But how long would she have to wait to find the truth she now sought? How long would she have to wait until her soul could rest?

She did not sense Link approaching her, or else she did not care. Regardless, she did not turn around when he stood by her side, together staring at the pedestal and seeing things that were both the same, and different. Seeing things that they never thought they'd see again and almost wished they hadn't.

The silence was broken, however, when Link put his hand on Zelda's shoulder, bringing her back to a painful reality. She looked at his hand resting lightly there and suddenly wished it would hold her face, that Link would comfort her in intimate ways that she was sure had never been crossed before. But the thought escaped her mind as he spoke roughly, whispering against the stillness.

"Would you like to see what it looked like before?"

She looked up at him, shock and confusion coloring her features. He bent down to match her level and looked her straight in the eye; his decision had been made. He would help her.

"Would you like to go back in time?"

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"In good times and bad times, I'll be on your side for ever more...that's what reviews are for!" - Me


	7. Of Faith, Fate, and Future

Hello again, everyone! I'm so sorry for the long wait! I had uploaded the last chapter just as finals week began, and after a brief vacation home I have returned!

I want to thank everyone who has left a review; you are truly inspiring and wonderful people. Thank you for all the kind comments and helpful advice as to how to make this story better! I also appreciate any observations made: it helps me to understand what you, as readers, pick up on and what you don't. I was seriously procrastinating finishing the story when I got a lovely review from someone named Sweet Valentine...and let's just say it pushed me forward! So thank you to Sweet Valentine particularly, but thanks to everyone else especially for sticking with me!

Of course, this isn't the last chapter...It was going to be, but then I thought of a nice way to finish it off that will give more closure. Haha. And I might write an epilogue still if I think it necessary. So without further ado, please read on, my friends!

As always, reviews are welcome, no questions asked! ;)

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"Would you like to go back in time?"

It was a question, of course, but Zelda could not formulate any sort of answer. Surely Link could not have such power; surely he wasn't able to simple solve all of her problems, just like that? She stared at him, dumbfounded for a moment, before shaking her head slowly, her mouth slightly agape.

"W-what?"

He grabbed her arms and pulled her up, slowly, so that they were both standing together in front of the Pedestal of Time. He smiled a brief, strained smile as he answered, as though unwilling to divulge the information. "If we go through the other doors, from the outside, we can enter the Temple as it once stood." He motioned back, through the Door of Time, past the statues, and up the platform. "A shard of the Twilight Mirror was said to be hidden in an 'ancient grove,' which turned out to be…here."

Zelda looked at the other set of doors, on the other side of the thicket, and then back up at Link. "I remember you needed to journey here, but I can't recall…" She searched her mind for the memories she might have had of that portion of the adventure, but since they were Midna's memories, and not really her own, she assumed the Twilight Princess had stolen them back when they had been separated. If Midna had not been extremely upset, or anxious, or fearful, or happy, then Zelda did not experience those emotions either. And since she had been merely an extension of the Twilight Princess, and not a separate entity, there was no way that she knew this fact on her own.

Then she saw, without really seeing, a vivid flash of light and a staircase appearing just behind the pedestal—but it was not the same pedestal that was in front of her… She squeezed Link's hands as she remembered. "You moved through the Temple of Time in search of the shard! Of course! The temple as it stood before, not as it stands now!"

Her excitement expanded; her desire to see the temple as her ancestors saw it, as it was intended to be seen by the goddess, shook her to her very core. Without thinking, she hurled her arms around Link's neck, squeezing him tightly; the only person who could understand her exhilaration and her sorrow, he was the only person who could help her just by being himself.

They stood there for a moment, holding onto one another, before a subtle spark suddenly separated them to an arm's length. It was a small surge of electricity that caused tremors to run through both their bodies, as though the goddesses themselves had just passed through their cores. But Zelda's excitement quickly outgrew her curiosity, and disregarding the intimate moment they just shared, and the bizarre separation that followed, the Princess of Hyrule had her mind on one thing only. And so she started to pull Link out of the area and down the staircase, refusing to relinquish her hold on his hand. "Come on! Hurry!"

She must have shaken him out of his disquiet, because he laughed at her enthusiasm even as he slowed his steps. "What's the rush? It will still be there in five minutes."

Zelda seemed to have forgotten all manners of propriety and etiquette, seemed to have forgotten that she was a princess and a bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, not a silly schoolgirl with a crush and a dream. She threw him a glower over her shoulder as she nearly ran for the stairs. He had tensed his muscles, staking his limbs into the ground so that she was pulling almost his entire weight as she tugged.

"But I want to see what it looks like! Through my own eyes!"

He laughed again, rolling his eyes, but then pulled her back, grabbing her by the waist and pulling him close to her. She gasped at the sudden absence of space between them again; unlike their hug just moments before, this seemed premeditated and therefore more intimate. Their hands were still laced together and he held her back in the other. Her mouth fell open in both surprise and anticipation.

But he grinned down at her—when did he get so much taller?—and whispered in her ear. "Relax." Even as he said this, her heart began beating frantically against her ribcage and her breathing was heavy and sharp. She stared into his eyes, but they betrayed her before long, sneaking a peak at his lips, so close to hers…

Another sudden sting coursed through her veins and they both jumped back from one another as though burned. Link looked down at her hands, which seconds before had been in direct contact with her skin, and then up at her, bewildered. Her hand was held to her lips, stunned by the shock, and she let it fall to her chest, willing it to calm. It was a few moments before she was able to meet his eyes, and did so only after he spoke her name.

"Zelda…" It was a question, rolled up from a hundred questions, but she did not have an answer.

Two sparks, within the span of a few moments, had pushed the pair away from each other, and Zelda knew that it was the will of the goddesses for them to keep their distance. They were not allowed to be this close; they were not allowed to talk, to touch, except when their country needed them. But she would have never told the hero this, not only because of his distrust in the divine, but because the embarrassment and reality of its truth were too much for the princess to bear.

Shaking her head, emotions running rampant, she turned away from him, heading down the stairs alone. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering against the cold that was not in the air. "Come on, Link." Under her breath, she murmured, "Duty calls."

She reached the end of the area before he did, climbing through the small crack in the wall and up the steep incline without aid. Her fingers brushed over the granite block, engraved with another Triforce symbol—this one surrounded by the Royal Crest—as she hoisted herself up to the next level. The doorframe stood across from her and she approached it warily, unsure as to what she had to do next.

The doors were carved from heavy wood, and all across them were texts in Ancient Hylian that only a few could still decipher. She was among them. Her eyes traced over the words and symbols, whispering them under her breath as she translated.

"In a realm beyond sight, the sky shines gold, not blue..."

"…There, the Triforce's might makes mortal dreams come true."

Hearing his voice finish the translation surprised her, and Zelda turned around to see Link walking slowly up the incline, his eyes focused on the door. She examined the frame to confirm his version and looked back at him with a bright smile.

"I didn't know you could read ancient Hylian."

"Neither did I," he admitted, meeting her at the door. "I suppose that is one of the perks of being a bearer."

She grinned, turning back to the door to examine it more closely. But Link seemed more troubled by the words than she, and his fingers traced the carvings as he asked, "Do you think it's true then? Do you think the Triforce really does make mortal dreams come true?"

His fingers continued to trace the words, reaching the same letter that her finger rested on and they both looked at the word together: dreams. His question was more than a casual inquiry; it was laced with hope and wishful thinking. She tapped the letters thoughtfully, her heart breaking as she admitted her opinion.

"I think this refers to the legend of the Triforce, that when a mortal, worthy of the gifts of the goddesses—when that mortal touches the Triforce, then he or she is bestowed with virtual omnipotence. If a person with a righteous heart claims the Triforce, Hyrule will enter into a golden age of peace and prosperity. But if a person with a wicked heart claims the Triforce, the realm will inevitably fall into an age of darkness."

Link's hand fell away from the door as she finished, and he looked at the words without seeing them. "It seems hardly fair that we should carry a piece of Triforce, so great a power already, without getting anything that we might dream of." His eyes passed over her briefly before he turned away, his back to the door and the princess, lost in thought again.

She wanted to comfort him on this point, but to her the matter had been settled long ago: as wielders, they were not meant to find their own happiness, only meant to serve. There was nothing she could do to change that fact, however; duty was the essence of her soul, the reason for her being, the measure of her person. There was nothing written in the ancient texts or in the stars that even mentioned her own happiness, her own gratification, and neither was there anything written about the future of the other bearer. Once they had completed their task, the princess was set to finish her rule and the hero…the hero was left clutching a sword and shield and a memory that he would no longer need.

Of course, this was the storyline that she knew and accepted. Without a proper base of faith, however, this version of the future, of fate, meant little more than stardust. But now Zelda understood some of Link's reservations about the goddesses and their holy dominion. Her part had a rough beginning but an end that held meaning and purpose. His story finished early and ended just as he was starting to understand his role and what he might do for the kingdom. He was left with nothing now that he had given everything.

And yet it was Zelda's faith that allowed her to remain optimistic about the potential future while Link, with no heavenly instruction, and no faith to fall back on, seemed lost. Even in her eternal wisdom, Zelda could not think how to convince Link that his story was not over, that he had not been left abandoned by the goddesses just when he started to need them back. She could not think of what to say because she herself was not entirely convinced that this was not the case. That had been the purpose of her journey: to determine what the goddesses intended for the future. Only now, that determination rested on her desire to find out her own future as well as the future of the other bearer—and if they could possibly be entwined as her heart yearned for.

So she must continue on with her journey—that was what was important now. She watched Link retreat away from the door, lowering himself onto a fallen piece of granite to sit, deep in contemplation. Zelda remained next to the door, however; the only obstacle left to face, besides her treacherous heart, before she achieved her mission. Touching the wood lightly, her anxieties began to show in her eyes. She drew in a deep breath and then turned to Link. "What now?"

He looked back at her, a little surprised at her interruption. "Just open the doors and walk through."

"Really? That's all?" Her face must have conveyed her disappointment, but this time Link only managed a tight smile and an encouraging nod.

"Yes, really. I've already taken care of the hard part."

Zelda smiled wide, thoughts of monsters and puzzles streaming through her mind. She closed her eyes, held out her hand, and pushed both doors wide open. She stepped forward in a flash of light.

Curiosity colored the princess so that she couldn't help but open her eyes as the scene transformed in front of her, even if the light was so blinding and the imagery so fuzzy. A few moments passed until suddenly everything sharpened, growing more and more vivid in detail and texture. When Zelda stepped forward, slowly, daringly, it was to feel the hard flatness of marble under her feet and the musty scent of time in her nose.

She stood in front of a wide and open staircase, tall and steep, with short steps leading out to the middle of a large chamber. It held the frame of the present, only cleaner, structured, as it was meant to be seen. Great vaulted ceilings covered high towers of stained glass, lining the edges of the room. The two guardians remained in the same position as they did, placed there centuries before and refusing to leave. The entire chamber focused on the center of the room where the green and gold Triforce—the same as the one outside—reflected the deep beams of light, scattering it around so that the room was both bright and hazy.

Zelda took her time as she walked down the steps, looking at the rich detail laid out in the stones in the walls and on the floor. She moved straight, in line with the Door of Time like she was drawn to it, not really noticing that only her footsteps could be heard clinking against the smooth stone.

When she reached the Triforce symbol she stopped, a memory sweeping over her from the past that reminded her of the way things used to be. She recalled standing on a raised platform, the mark of the Sage of Light painted on its top, and a high altar at the end of a long hall with three hollows cut from the black stone and a line of ancient Hylian marking its purpose. But when she opened her eyes to see the same scene, there were only the two guardians and no alter.

"But this…is different…"

Deep in concentration, attempting to understand the differences between her memories and her reality, Zelda put a hand to her forehead, losing herself to her thoughts. Her fingers tapped the tip of her head, where her crown usually stood, and then she let out a cry of excitement and clapped her hands in delight.

"Of course! They would have removed the altar when they hid the Spiritual Stones!" She glanced up at the stone statues, as though they might confirm this theory. "And these guardians were put in place to block the entrance to the Door of Time instead!"

Excitedly, she looked around to find Link to share this news. He had followed her only through the doorway and no farther, planted several yards away, at the top of the staircase. Their eyes met briefly before he looked away, apparently still troubled by his thoughts. Zelda's hand twitched, wanting to comfort him, except her heart was close to finally finding peace and she knew that only more physical contact between them might bring more retribution. And so she merely called to him, motioning him to her, and then walked briskly between the statues neither of which acknowledged her crossing, right through the Door of Time and into the next chamber.

The Pedestal of Time stood in the middle of the room, but this, too, was slightly different from the chamber of her memories. Of this room, she recalled much, with its high stained glass, domed ceiling that rose up to the heavens, and elevated platform dais in the center. She turned around to look above the doorway, where a platform had been cut from the wall, an easy place to reach and wait for someone…someone who was sure to come back…

This memory she brushed aside, not wanting to relieve the fretful and fearful interval of stationary time, lost time, time that refused to move forward even though it only had to move forward seven years. It had been bitter enough to live through it the first time, and the Princess of Hyrule did want to wait around anymore.

So she continued forward, stepping right up to the pedestal as she had done moments before, only now she was surrounded by stone and marble and high glass windows and walls. In front of her, so large that they wrapped around to the side of the room, were three enormous altars, each dressed and decorated in different colors and symbols and statues, marking each of the three goddesses. Nayru, the goddess of wisdom, was on the left in bright blue; Farore, the goddess of courage, on the right in forest jade; and Din, the goddess of power, was in the middle dressed in deep ruby. Their placement was as close to a Triforce formation as could be possible in an oval room.

These alters were new; even new, Zelda assumed, to Link who had visited this chamber very recently. But her instinct told her that the alters had been placed there for her visit and her visit only—with no remnants of them in the present, they could have only been placed in the past or the future. Her memory confirmed that they had not been there in the past, meaning that the goddesses anticipated her appearance in the future.

Zelda could not move as her mind whirled around with the choice; there was so much to be said, and so much to ask, that she did not know where to start. It had taken several days to reach the temple that stood only through some magical reenactment, and although she knew the whole way through what she would have to do when she got there, facing the goddesses now seemed like an impossible task. She needed to pay tribute to them and their guidance; she needed to pay the penance necessary of her status and her people. But most of all she needed answers, answers to the questions that riddled her heart and her mind and refused to quiet themselves in her head. And she was afraid to do it all alone.

Through the deafening silence she heard the jangle of weaponry and armor and chain mail. Turning her head, she saw, over her shoulder, that Link had followed her into the room, stopping just by the door again and watching her curiously through unabashed eyes. A smile grew on her face and seeped down, warming her heart. With this show of courage, and support, Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule knew she could do the duty that was asked of her, and then some.

And so she made the symbol of the Triforce across her forehead and shoulders before slowly walking to the altar on her left. She sank to her knees in front of the statue, looking up at her patron goddess as light from the windows covered her in a heavenly glow. Taking a deep breath, Zelda brought her hands together in the form of a triangle and began to pray.

_Dearest goddess Nayru, the sacred divinity of spirit…I come from afar to seek your guidance and your wisdom…Please…_

She waited, serenely, never moving from her position even when the goddess finally answered, in her head. It was like music ringing in her ears, pulsing throughout her body, filling her with an indescribable peace and tranquility; the voice of the goddess was heaven on Hyrule, glory and faith and wisdom played out like wind chimes in the summer air.

_I am here, my child….So far you have fallen, and yet you have done so well….What is it you seek?_

And the words poured through Zelda's mind; everything buried deep within her heart she asked the goddess, for her kingdom, her people, and herself. She asked for forgiveness in her surrender to Zant and her failure to protect her people. She asked for the strength to aid her kingdom when it needed her the most. She begged for the courage, and the power, but mostly the wisdom to foresee such events in the future so as never to disappoint again.

But the goddess's answers were less than peaceful.

_My child, do not be harsh on yourself for your actions against the evil king…You were always destined to face him, just as he is always destined to be evil. You disappoint only yourself in your decisions, but remember that your decisions are enhanced; your choices divine because of the Triforce piece you wield. The laws of this land, as I have written them, will lead you to determine that which you seek and that which you endeavor…_

Zelda's heart had slowed its beating, depression filling it. The thoughts swam in her head, but it was to the emotions that the goddess answered.

_You are so young to face such an evil, and yet you have an old soul…You have been forgiven for your past judgments because they were part of your destiny in this lifetime….And that the goddesses have given you forgiveness, so too will the people of Hyrule….be patient and enlightenment will follow…._

_But the next time…what of that? _Zelda asked inside her head. _Will I fail as I have failed now?_

_Do not worry about the next time you will be judged, my child, for it will be many years from now and your soul will rest easy in the meantime._

But Zelda felt her heart unappeased and the goddesses heard this too.

…_The next time you…You will not fail the next time. It has already been decided. _

Zelda's ears began to buzz as she heard another goddess whisper, but she could not pick out the words in the presence of her patron. She waited until it was silent before beginning again.

_Will the evil king rise again? Is he the only threat to our kingdom?_

There was a tinkling of bells and chimes—laughter—and then an answer. _You are ruler up high of all the land of Hyrule, my child. You know of other threats to your people and what they entail. But as for the evil king…He will not reappear in your lifetime_.

Relief began to flood Zelda's veins until she considered the last few words. _In your lifetime_. Her heart beat picked up.

_And after? What of the generations to come?_

There was a long pause following her question, as though the goddess did not wish to impart the information. Finally, there came a response._ No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious... You know of the prophecy, princess. You know what is destined for the land of Hyrule. _

Horror, sheer and utter horror, filled Zelda's heart, and tears began to pour down her cheeks in earnest. It could not be true, it must not be true, why…?

_The world is one of balance, my child, this you know better than anyone … Ganon was the manifestation of sin, and without his malevolence there is no balance to the good that you and the hero have spread. And so the people will be bathed in evil, an evil too great for even bearers of the Triforce to control…And we will cleanse the land as we created it…._

Crying silently to herself, Zelda could not think to ask the goddess anything more. But once again, Nayru understood her heart and responded to her fears.

_Worry not, my child. This is the destiny of Hyrule. Do not pity the future; pity the present, for you will not be around to witness the coming restitution. You have done well for us, Zelda. You have done what was asked of you and now you must continue your task of rebuilding…_

_Why?_ Zelda thought, furiously and mournfully. _Why should we rebuild if you mean to tear it apart again?_

She knew she should not have thought it, but the emotions running through her tore down her control.

_Why awaken every day only to do it the next? Why live when you will eventually die? Because you must….Because that is the gift you have been given and you must make the most of it…_

_I do, _thought Zelda_. I make the most of every moment I have been given. But why should I be given so many when others have but one life to live?_

The goddess laughed again, and the chimes took over the princess's thoughts for a moment. _Do not think yourself the only soul to be reincarnated, child. You are, surely, one of the chosen ones, but you are chosen only to act in our stead and to bear that which belongs to us…You will return to this land once the cleansing has been completed and you will battle the evil king again, alongside the hero. You will save the land of Hyrule forever because that is your destiny. _

There was more, so much more to ask and to say. Zelda sat still, for minutes first and then an hour, and then another, until the day crept on and on with her body still rigid in prayer. The goddess gave her counsel on the primary tribulations facing the kingdom, calming her distress and alleviating her worry. She asked for the strength to face the oncoming years, and the strength to carry her people in times of need, which she was granted. She asked that her people be kept safe, and that none should suffer under her rule, to which the goddess laughed and again and reminded Zelda once more of the necessary balance within the world. _Without suffering, there can be no joy…_

The princess sought further guidance regarding what to do with the evil lord's body; it had been stowed away in the dungeons under high guard, but Nayru reassured her that this reincarnation was dead, his Triforce piece gone, and he would be safe to bury like any other soul. Zelda questioned the connection to the Twilight Princess, but on this topic the goddess seemed resolute.

_The connection between the two worlds has been shattered….you will communicate with the other princess very seldom in the future and only for brief moments…But this is what must be. Twilight must balance light, two sides of the sun and moon…._

Zelda, tried, in vain, to discover the connection between herself and her other reincarnations; was she the same soul who battled alongside the original Hero of Time? And what of her ancestors? But Nayru would not respond to questions of this nature, remaining enigmatic instead.

_Your soul lies within you, but it, like your destiny, has taken on many forms…Regardless of the year and age, Zelda, you will remain a constant in the story of Hyrule…._

On some topics, the other goddesses seemed to answer her; their voices were varied, still musical, but as though different instruments playing the same harmony. Din, sharper and more assertive, ordered Zelda not to worry about the weight of the world; they carried that. Farore, fairer and true, spoke but briefly to the princess, and it was on the subject of courage.

_You wear the wisdom of my sister well, child…But soon you will find equal courage in the days ahead…_

As her questions began to slow, so too did their responses. At last, with the majority of her questions answered, Zelda heard the goddesses nearing the end of their time with her.

_When the legend dies, the dreams end; there is no more greatness. Remember the legend then, my child….Remember that the past exudes legend and that no life can be recaptured wholly, as it was… Your wisdom will only bring reward when you are strong enough to endure it, and even then, the purpose of wisdom is merely to discriminate good and evil…. And you are made wise not by the recollection of your past, but by the responsibility for your future. Remember the legend but do not repeat it…_

Zelda nodded, the first movement she'd shown the entire time, and she felt her spirit draining back into her body, back into the present where the goddesses were and yet also absent. Just as she was about to pull away and return to the present, Nayru spoke to her in a haze of time.

_And what of your last question, my child? Will you ask the question that resides in your heart?_

It took several moments for Zelda to compose herself, to listen to the beating of her heart and the harmonious whisper of the goddesses, all three now descended upon her, waiting for her to ask once she realized what the question was. The words poured through her thoughts before she could stop them.

_The hero…Is he…is he destined to achieve that which he desires most?_

Although she asked all three, it was Farore, Link's own patron goddess, who reassured her.

_His dreams as the same as your own, child. You will both find that which you seek._

Then, there was a clamor of musical notes as all three goddesses spoke, so that Zelda only caught part of their words.

…_So much suffering still to come….destinies still unfulfilled…._

…_But it is love, not reason, that is strongest of all…_

…_Yes, the heart has its reasons which reason knows not of…_

…_And the balance? What of that?_

……_Without courage, wisdom bears no fruit…._

Finally, the conversation seemed to stop and the musical whispers came in harmony, as though a decision had been made but for one last question. Only this question came from the goddesses and it was Zelda who was forced to answer.

_Is he what you desire most? _

If Zelda, current Princess of Hyrule, had answered she might have said no, he was not what she desired most….After all, that princess knew the hero very little and although she respected and admired and possibly loved him, her kingdom was most important to her still. But the Zelda that answered was not just this Zelda, but all of them because she was all of them—all reincarnations of her soul pushed forward in her heart and cried out together.

_Yes. _

And there was a beautiful, melodious chiming of bells and flutes and strings, as the goddesses all laughed together at her eagerness and passion. Zelda felt light, floating on air, her soul no longer compressed into one but opened up to merge them all. She was not the doubtful princess of twenty who had just lost her brother and her father and barely managed to save the kingdom; she was the ageless princess, conqueror of evil, wise and beautiful, many lives living at once, but all with the same name: Zelda.

Then Nayru spoke to her, just as Zelda opened her eyes and saw, for the first time in hours, the altar before which she sat. The words echoed in the princess's mind as she slowly stood up from her place of prayer.

_We shall send you a sign, then, to either of you…You will know our answer soon…But in the meantime, peace be with you, child, and do not fret…You have both been given my love before…_

Zelda felt her chest release the pressure that had been built up for years, and with a small smile she turned around. Link stood at the opposite end of the chamber, climbing to his feet in front of the altar of Farore, lost in his own prayers. And when they both had stood, they looked at each other from across the room and felt peace.

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Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? You know what to do. Hit that review button! ;)


	8. Learning to Leave Again

Okay, so I'm a bit behind in terms of deadline; I apologize. But now, instead of a final, final chapter, you get two final chapters! If that makes any sense at all. I will upload the very last chapter in two days, but here is the (first) conclusion to the story!

Thank you once again to everyone kind enough to review. And on that note, please don't hesitate to leave--a new one or another one, it makes no nevermind to me. :)

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The afternoon sun hung lazily in the air, spilling light through the high stained glass windows in an idle manner, cutting through the silence with colors and contrasts. The sheer emptiness of the chamber exerted pressure on Zelda's chest before slowly dissipating, as though she could feel the goddesses leave and ascend to the heavens once again. Despite the light, and the silence, and the weight of the room, however, the princess of Hyrule focused all her energy and attention on one single individual: the chosen hero.

It was a few moments before either Link or Zelda moved; they stood at opposite ends of the room, staring at the other in a new understanding that had everything and nothing to do with the prayers they had just spent hours making. Zelda was at first surprised to see Link returning from his goddess's altar, given his previous disposition on faith and heavenly intervention. He was simply not the praying type, and yet as far as she could tell he had been in prayers for just as long as she had.

Against the altar of the goddess of courage, Link appeared surer of himself, more at ease than Zelda had ever seen him. Courage, already inherent in his blood and soul, now radiated off his being in a way that made Zelda, who stood some twenty yards from him, feel braver.

Although the Princess of Hyrule now realized her own commitment to the hero, her feelings had faded a bit from just a moment ago. It was as if a tremendous force of affection and adoration and love had left her being just as her soul had broken into fragments again—the love of all her incarnations was imprinted on her heart, but she could only sense a small seed of it. Her spirit had expanded, in her conversation with the goddesses, to fit all the love she had ever had for the hero. But in their absence, and the absence of her soul in its entirety, she only felt the remnants of that love etched in the empty hollow of her heart—the love as it had been long ago and what it could be in time.

Each walked across the floor at the same time, meeting up in the middle, all the while looking at each as though they had never truly done so. Link smiled at the princess softly, understanding flashing in his eyes as he offered his elbow. The princess accepted it graciously and they walked from the chamber together, never turning back. It was the last time they would ever see the temple in that form, in any lifetime, and yet the thought did not cross their minds or, if it did, did not bother them in the slightest. It was time to move on.

They crossed through to the forest world in another brilliant flash of light and color, though rather than shielding their eyes they simply averted them by looking at each other. Their shyness not yet fully dissolved, they smiled and looked away again just as the brightness subsided and the forest materialized before them. Link helped Zelda through the doorway by gently pulling her hand forward but Zelda stopped in her tracks, lost in thought. He looked back at her expectantly, their hands still clasped together when the goddesses spoke to the princess once again.

_Zelda, you must not linger in this place…You are needed in your castle and must return…alone._

The princess stood calmly, as though she had expected this command and merely listened out of politeness. Of course there would be more to the story than a simple reconciliation; of course the goddesses would not simply let the two come together at last, natural laws no longer holding the two opposites apart. All of the excitement and delight that bubbled in her chest just moments ago now burst in a sudden sense of foreboding. She knew what had to be done and yet with the hero holding her hand so firmly, so warmly, she felt torn in two.

Link heard the same command from the goddesses, with ears as long as the Zelda's, but he did not seem as accepting. His mouth fell open at first in surprise and then shut sharply, his jaw tightening in a rigid line that spoke volumes of his displeasure. His piercing stare made Zelda turn her gaze away, to the side, out of guilt and shame and resentment.

"What will you do?"

It was a simple inquiry and yet there were millions of other questions, some accusations, laced into it. The most obvious, the most tangible, of them was simply: will you leave?

But Zelda had to leave. If the goddesses asked it of her, she had to do it, not only because of the dire consequences she was sure would occur should she disobey—no, the principal reason for her return would be out of her own sense of obligation and duty. She was not a ruler who preferred to sit aside and watch others correct her mistakes. She was not a ruler who allowed others to perform a task which she was perfectly capable of performing. She would return to the castle and oversee the rest of the restoration as she had wanted to do before ordered, by her counsel and her guilt, to make the religious journey to the Sacred Grove.

Zelda did not know if Link harbored the same affection for her as she did for him; she did not know if there was any way for them to have any sort of life together. She did not even know if the goddesses would allow them to live in peace, together. And although she wanted that for herself, the princess in her rose above. Her priorities were her kingdom and then her heart, and always in that order. She did not know of any other way.

The thought tore at Zelda's chest, but she shrugged it off as she knew she must. The goddesses, in their reply, in their order, only meant to spare her feelings. Din, Farore and Nayru had told her they would send her a sign once they had decided whether she and the hero were meant to be together. Their command for her to return to the castle, without him, must have been their decision in total. It had been decided that Link and Zelda, together, side by side, could never be.

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, and a lump of sorrow rose in Zelda's throat. She knew what she must say to him and what she must do to him now that they were forbidden from any sort of companionship. She had to leave him, as they had instructed, she had to forget about him, as her head ordered. He did not care for her like she cared for him; he did not love her like she loved him. The empty hollow of her heart, from where the love of her ancestors had merged with her own, seemed even emptier now in the face of this revelation.

Link appeared to understand her decision even before she said it; as she deliberated, his eyes grew darker, his touch colder, and he looked away. So much had happened between them in the temple, before the goddesses. But now, in the face of reality and humanity, against duty and expectations and misunderstandings, the hero and the princess were lost.

Zelda did not notice Link's sudden strife. Her decision set, her future unfurled, she met Link's question with her own. "What will you do?"

He made no acknowledgment of her question, instead looking down at their hands entwined, where his grip seemed to be slipping just as hers did. When Link finally spoke, his voice was rough and full of emotion. He let his hand fall away from hers, and Zelda immediately felt their connection weaken.

"I will return to my village. I will help with the repairs there and continue to work on the ranch."

Her heart began to race and her breathing became a little more rapid. She knew the answer, again, before she asked but she had to ask anyway, if not just for curiosity sake then for the appeasement of her heart.

"And then?"

Link's hand fell into a fist, and he clenched it harshly to his side, anguish deepening into conviction. "And then I will live my life the way it was meant to be lived, before any of this ever happened."

"And this is what you want?" The question came out before Zelda could stop it.

Link turned away from her slowly, walking down the steps, as his answer came like a whisper on the wind. "This is how it must be."

Zelda's hand rose to her throat, and then to her mouth, as though she might be sick. The tears that had threatened to spill before now flowed freely down her cheeks and she let them stay there for a time, cooling her temper and her spirit. She hardly ever cried, but she felt as though her eyes had been watery for the entire religious trip and it shocked her to realize it.

It hurt to hear Link's rejection, but what had she expected? Would he really just chase after her and save her time and time again? No man, pride be damned, had the resilience and the patience to put up with someone like her, someone so rigid in their temperament and unpredictable in their emotion. He had done what was asked of her and she could expect no more from him, not even love—especially not love.

The tears did not last long, and they dried before Zelda stepped down from the ledge herself, walking across the embedded image of the Triforce and past the stone guardians. They did not look at her in her shame and grief and she did not look at them.

She found Link in the open chamber, sitting quietly on one of the ledges some twenty feet in the air. She did not question how he got there, and her surprise at finding him so intent on leaving was hidden as she asked, "Please, Link, will you come down here?"

He looked at her sharply, but not in her eyes; he seemed to be acknowledging her presence but unable to actually look at her. She could not detect any single emotion in his eyes, his lashes and lids cast down. His expression did not change as he jumped from the ledge, landing lightly on his feet, still looking just beyond her. She held out her hand to him, her lips quivering in regret as she solidified her decision. "Please, Link, take my hand and I will return us to Faron Province."

If her tone or intent displeased him he did not show it: he merely brought his hand up, seemingly bored, barely taking her hand as though not wanting to touch her. Her heart tore even more in two at his sudden reserve but she kept her expression neutral, presenting the stony face she wore, flawlessly, everyday in her life at court. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

A surge of strength began to slowly fill her being, rippling through her in waves of magic that might have radiated off her if not for her years—centuries, really—of controlling it. She forced her grief to work in her favor, channeling the energy in a quick turn of her wrist, pulling them both through the darkness and space and time. They landed softly on the other side of the forest and gorge, back onto the tree trunk ledge overlooking the Forest Temple.

As soon as their feet hit the ground, Link released his grip on her hand. His eyes opened to take in their surroundings, and, realizing where they were, immediately set off in the direction of their previous camp. His anger or resentment or bitterness pushed him forward, leaving Zelda to stare after him, her hand raised as though meaning to stop him, but unable to do so.

She understood his acrimony, knew that he was justified in his embittered actions and damaged disposition. And she also knew that he was beyond reproach, beyond forgiveness, just as sure as she knew his favorite color and his temperamental nature—that was simply Link. His humor was short but lively, his trust easily given but never lightly, and once betrayed he did not look back.

But the feelings stirred in her chest like something she had felt before. She must have had to face this decision before. She must have had to watch him walk away before. And she must have turned her back and done the same.

She watched him cross to the other side of the area, disappearing around the corner, before she finally sighed and moved to follow him. She walked calmly, the peace from the temple still radiating from her while her insides twisted with pain and regret. Twill the vendor bird observed her passing in silence, like a funeral-goer watching the deceased pass on.

When she reached the other side, she saw that he sat atop his mare, pulling the reins of her now saddled horse along with him. She felt her heart break into even smaller pieces but refused to let it show. Calmly, she reached for the reins when he handed them to her and she quickly mounted her horse in one swift motion. She thought she saw the corner of his mouth flick, but whether it was in frown or smile she couldn't tell.

There was brief silence as they sized each other up, like friends now turned into opponents. They both stared at each other; eyes squinted in the semi-darkness, refusing to speak but hesitant to go. The princess's face was stony and unyielding; the hero's face was hard and distant. They were formidable rivals, each daring the other to do the right thing, not realizing that the right thing is often never the best thing. They both wanted happiness and escape but they were bound by their sacrifices and duty and anger and therefore neither could win.

Link spoke, cutting Zelda off just as she opened her mouth. But instead of apologizing, as Zelda was about to, and instead of reconciling the situation, as Zelda had intended, he tightened his hold on the reins and looked at her in the descending darkness. "Be safe." Then he turned his back on her and rode furiously into the night, leaving her alone and empty and without a goodbye.

Zelda reached Hyrule Field late into the night, riding as hard and as swift as she had ever ridden before. As soon as Link had turned away from her, the anger and frustration that she had been keeping bottled seem to explode from her chest, shuddering down her limbs and forcing her into action. She wanted to ride after Link, force him to listen, condemn him in the most unforgivable words. She wanted to push him off his horse, grab hold of him shamelessly, compel him to understand. But he was far too fast and too seasoned a rider to doddle—he was out of sight before she reached the crossroads. Her horse held at the juncture, waiting for her to decide which path to take: the easy one or the hard one?

In the end, she chose the easy one, riding away from Ordon Province and toward her castle home as though on fire. And she was on fire, in a sense; the adrenaline and anger drove her insane for the few hours it took to reach the field, shaking from her any coherent and sensible thought as she fought against her treacherous heart.

She rode and rode and rode and rode, never looking back to see if she was being followed. If she was honest with herself, she did not care if she was being followed. If it was the hero, she wanted away from him; if it was an enemy, let it take her. She knew enough about fate and destiny to know that if misfortune was coming for her, she should not try to outrun it.

Trees, rocks, scattered remains of gates and bridges—they were not given a second's thought as Zelda flew by them, their image shadowy and dark. It was a dangerous and insipid ride, for both her and the horse. The area was treacherous even during the daytime, and with limited vision and no concern for safety, Zelda knew she was at risk. But she also knew she didn't care.

Before long, her poor horse whinnied in fatigue and discord. It was then that she realized she had pushed the mare beyond its limits; it had made the two days journey in only a few short hours. She slowed the creature down carefully, taking care not to alarm it and bring any attention to their location, and she directed it toward a large formation of rock in the field. Chiding herself silently, Zelda lowered herself from the saddle to attend to it. This was no place to stop and certainly no place to rest given they were out in the open and the sky was so dark, but the princess couldn't force the mare to ride on for the rest of the night.

Movement, just out of sight, caused her to stiffen and remain in the saddle. She heard the rustling of leaves and the heavy tread of footsteps to her left, but when she turned her head she could not see through the heavy darkness. She kept her eyes trained on the spot, waiting for some subtle movement or sound to mark the presence of another creature, but the night was cold and gloomy and refused to reveal its secrets.

Sighing, Zelda lowered herself to the ground just as an arrow shot through the night, piercing the very spot she had been sitting not three seconds ago. Immediately she unsheathed her sword and turned to face an invisible opponent. Something was around her, something sinister and intent on her harm, but still she could see nothing. Her normally sharp eyes seemed too weary to pick up on the enemy. Until they were upon her.

A group of moblins, heavy with weaponry and shields, rained down upon her from all sides, hacking and slashing and slicing with no mercy. Their grunting and hissing frightened the princess, if only because she had no warning. Zelda tried to remount her horse but the beast, frightened at the attack, reared back to kick at the monsters, preventing her from grabbing the saddle, let alone the reins. She might be able to defend herself, but the horse stood no chance, so, parrying a few ill attempted attacks, Zelda used the flat side of her blade to slap the horse's end and send it hurtling into the night, away from the monsters. And herself.

She fought off a few of the less experienced and less brutal creatures easily, often striking them before they knew where she was. But the sheer number of the monsters propelled her back, deftly retreating in the opposite direction of her horse so as to better grasp the situation.

When she felt she had run far enough, she turned to face the moblins, trying to gauge their strength and number. There were more than double the amount she had faced on her journey there, even after she had disposed of a few, and after identifying their leader she realized it from the same group she had warded off before. Some showed slash marks on their rough skins and the largest one, the leader, was burned from his waist to his face. To know that they had been waiting for her to return, for her to return when she was beyond physically and emotionally weary and totally alone, struck fear into Zelda's heart.

She tried to fend off the attack, but several swords came at her at once and she did not know where to turn. She pushed back still so that a few of the blades, including that of the leader, missed her by only centimeters. Others struck her, however, slicing long across her garments and cutting her flesh but shallowly. The cuts drew blood but Zelda knew they didn't matter; more would be coming and not all of them would miss their mark.

The leader seemed annoyed that she had survived this long into the attack, and pushed through the group so as to better face her. Zelda stumbled away from him, as far back as she could go until the moblins began to encircle her so that she had no way of retreat. Glances over her shoulder confirmed what they already knew: they had her surrounded and they had her outnumbered.

She barely raised her sword when the leader, sneering, lunged toward her, aiming for her heart. The strike was so directed and so fast that all Zelda could do was close her eyes and give one last, silent prayer to the goddesses. She waited and waited for the blow to pierce her but still it did not come.

The moblins around her growled and hissed in anger, but she could also detect some moaning and gurgling and screaming. When she opened her eyes, she saw several moblins crawling toward her, reaching for her boots with long arrow shafts gleaming from their backs. Still she did not understand what had caused it and she looked at the leader of the group to confirm her suspicions.

The leader reached for her as well, madly, blood frothing at his mouth. The silver of a long blade tip protruded from his chest and the sight of it both scared and exhilarated the princess. She stepped back just as the monster fell forward, the blade withdrawing from his back, still held in Link's hand.

They stared at each other from across the darkness and their expressions wore both relief and fear. Link breathed deeply, taking in the sight of her, beckoning her to him in one fluid motion. Without a second's thought, Zelda reached him, raising her own sword to defend against the remainder of the army.

But at the sight of so many dead already, with their leader vanquished, most of the moblins ran off into the night. Link, however, seemed mad with rage, and he tore after many of them, slicing them open and shooting the rest in the back as they ran. Zelda tried to stop him, to pull him away from the area, but he would not cease until every single creature that had threatened her had been killed.

By the end of it, he stood apart from her, bloodied and gasping for air. He lowered his sword slowly, turning around to face her to make sure that she was all right. Again, they looked at each other but could find no words. Finally, bravery found the princess and she dropped her sword from her side and ran to him, to her hero, and jumped into his arms.

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Love it? Hate it? Tell me what you think!


	9. Consent and Conclusion

Well, here it is: the end. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and everyone who stuck with me this far! It was my first finished multichapter fic and I am proud of the way it turned out.

As always, please leave a review if you can! ;)

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He caught her and held her tightly, as they both shook with remnants of adrenaline and fear. She buried her face in his neck, crying silently, so glad to be alive and yet even more glad to see him. He might not love her, he might not care for her the way she would always care for him, but he always turned up when she needed him most and for that she was thankful.

They held each other for a few moments when Link, demonstrating subtle agility and strength, managed to sheath his sword with one hand and hold her with the other. She went willingly as he brought his hand beneath her knees to carry her, and she did not even look to see where he went. She knew she would be safe so long as he was near.

She loved him, in that moment, more than she ever had. Her other lives might disagree, but to this Zelda everything was old and yet so new; the feel of him carrying her, so carefully, so tenderly, warmed her skin and swelled her chest with emotion. The tread of his footsteps bringing her to safety; the sound of his heart beating furiously in his chest; the faint scent of leaves and sunshine and sweat lingering on his skin—she loved it all. It did not matter if he meant to simply return her to her castle. She would savor the moment always.

They reached Epona quickly and Link managed to place her in the saddle before climbing up behind her. He held her tightly still, cupping her waist with his arm, and he took the reins and hastened his horse ahead. They rode for an indiscriminate amount of time and Zelda shook and shivered as she tried to forget what had nearly happened. She could not look out into the darkness without seeing more moblins that were not there, so she closed her eyes and leaned into Link's broad chest. He, in turn, tightened his grip on her and urged Epona faster.

They slowed just as the lights of the castle appeared to grow brighter and Link steered them toward an outcropping of trees, sheltered by the side of the mountain. They were just yards from the castle and yet Zelda felt as though they were sheltered, distant from it. She had been ordered by the goddesses to return as so she had. Her journey was ended. Her life could now begin.

Link dismounted first, scanning the area thoroughly before he would let her down. When he determined the location safe, he grabbed her by the waist, gently lifting her from the saddle as though she were made of glass, and setting her against a heavy tree trunk. She closed her eyes again, and she felt him leave her side for only a moment and return quickly with a heavy blanket to shield against the cold.

He sat in front of her as he worked on building a small fire. Zelda peeked from beneath her lids and discovered that the setting resembled the one above the cliff tops, where he had taken her after the initial moblin attack. It was blocked from sight on two sides, and the terrain and composition of the trees offered shelter and safety. It appeared that the hero knew the land by heart, revisiting places he had deemed safe in the past and outfitting them properly so as to have no need to recreate the campsite every time he returned.

Zelda tried to stand, to help him, but the movement caught the hero's eye and he pushed her back against the tree gently, shaking his head. Still neither of them had said a word to the other. Zelda wondered if they would even speak that night or what else there was to say. Surely there was much to discuss, but perhaps some things were beyond mere words.

Normally, her mind was full of thought, thoughts of what to do, thoughts of what she had seen. The attack she dismissed from her mind: it did not warrant any reminder. But everything from the last few days with Link—every talk, every touch, every sense—became buried in the far back of her memory so as not to be summoned now. It was being kept for later remembrance, for later analysis. She knew that soon, enveloped in the heady nights of the castle, she would recall everything the hero had told her and everything he had been to her. She would cry out, she would clutch her heart in an attempt to drag away the pain. She would sleep little, eat even less, consume herself with the reconstruction of the kingdom and nothing more. But the nights would be hers to lament and to cry.

The faint words of the goddesses echoed through her ears as she attempted to remain calm. _Regardless of the year and age, Zelda, you will remain a constant in the story of Hyrule…. Peace be with you, child, and do not fret…..We shall send you a sign, then, to either of you…_.to either of you….

Zelda sat upright, away from the tree, the blanket falling away from her. She stared at Link's back, but he did not appear to notice her sudden agitation. She did not move, barely breathed, as the words swam through her head again…._to either of you_…

Did that mean that Link himself has asked for the same thing as she? Did that mean that his cold and distant behavior was not directed at her, but at the realization that neither of them could have what they wanted? Was his anger because they could not be together? Or because she had asked for it in the first place?

Zelda attempted to stand, to question Link, but found her throat dry and her words failing her. She realized this answer, from the goddesses, did not actually answer her own questions; she knew that this minute detail did not change anything. Surely they would send some sort of sign to either of them, but she doubted a moblin attack would be such a sign. Indeed, Link may have disregarded the command of the goddesses and followed her into the night, anticipating her foolishness in riding so far by herself. After all, he did not care for their commands anyway.

She leaned back against the tree slowly, letting the thought sink in. Surely the goddesses meant to send either of them a sign, if only because Zelda wanted to know and Link needed to know so as to not disobey again. The goddesses probably meant for her to find out and then inform him to stay away, which in his stubbornness and resentment he would do. And if they sent the sign to him, then it did not change anything: Zelda would never disobey, never lose faith, even if the goddesses forbid them from seeing each other again. Regardless of what the princess and the hero felt or wanted.

He finally finished fixing the fire and turned to her, exhaustion clearly etched into the lines of his face but the concern in his eyes overshadowed it. He knelt before her carefully, noticing the blanket had fallen. Rather than readjust it, he began to pull it farther away from her.

"May I?"

Zelda stared at him for a moment, unsure of his intent, but she removed the blanket herself, watching him as he checked her over. He inspected her briefly for cuts or bruises, taking her arms and legs carefully, bending and twisting them to look for breaks. His touch sent fire trailing across her skin, even through the fabric of her riding habit. She watched his hands work because she could not look at his face.

Finally, he seemed satisfied with his inspection and let his hand rest on her shoulder, grasping a lock of her hair.

"Are you all right?"

Zelda stared back at him, her heart pounding in her chest, and she forgot the fear of the attack and the pain of missing him. She laughed lightly at the question.

"I feel as though you are always asking me that."

"And I feel as though I always need to ask that."

Zelda had the pride to look slightly indignant at this, but when he smiled at her, she smiled back at the jest. "Well so long as you are the one saving me, I am sure I will be fine."

Link's smile faltered at this statement, but only as he grew more serious. With his other hand he grasped hers, staring at their entwined fingers intently. "I believe that I will be able to meet that requirement." He kissed the back of her hand, letting his lips linger over her skin. "For as long as you need me."

The shock of his actions, coupled with her yearning for them, sent shivers down her spine. She stared at him, confusion coloring her features. She seemed barely able to believe his words. "For as long as…you…"

As she repeated the words, a flood of memories began pouring through Zelda's mind like a river running free. She saw each tender moment, each happy time. She saw herself sitting beneath a similar tree, kissing him in the pale moonlight; she saw herself in the castle gardens, dancing with him during the dawn; she saw herself jumping into his arms, nearly tackling him to the ground in her excitement; she saw them laughing together, walking together, holding on to one another and never wanting to let go. The statement was in each of those memories, mingled with words like love, forever and together.

Her heart must have grown larger in just the few moments since he carried her away to safety. She felt it beat doubly, stronger and more robust, filled with the love of all her previous existences and amalgamating with the love she now felt herself. She slowly placed her hand against Link's chest, to feel the same erratic and stout heartbeat she had always known was there.

The warmth between them burned quickly into something deeper, and Zelda used her other hand to grasp his face, pulling it closer to her own. "Oh Link…."

Their lips were mere inches apart, and yet they both hesitated, waiting for some sign that they could not, should not, continue. Or, at least, Zelda waited, even pulling back slightly to look at the sky above them, as though the goddesses were spying upon them from the stars. Link smiled, bringing Zelda's gaze down again.

"Worried about lightning bolts and divine intervention?"

Zelda recalled the double shock she received just by merely touching Link's skin in a less-than-formal gesture. "It happened before, in the forest…" But she saw Link's smile twist, as though he was trying his best not to tell her something outright. She cocked her head to the side, thinking that his tone and question must indicate something…

Then it clicked: the sign. "Did they send you the sign? To inform us of their decision?"

Link looked at her, faraway. "The sign of their decision?" He watched her face as a blush bloomed over her cheeks, noticeable even in the darkness. "How did you know they were deciding something?"

Zelda bit her lip, slightly embarrassed. She wanted to spell out her love for him in a hundred different ways in a hundred different languages but she also could not bear the rejection if her thoughts and sentiments were not reciprocated.

"I—I asked them. In the temple. What they would allow us to be in this lifetime."

Link let her hair fall from his hand, gently holding her cheek. "You asked them if our souls could finally be at peace?" He watched the blush creeping up her cheeks and decided that there was more. "You asked them if our souls…might finally be together?"

Zelda sighed at his wording. It was exactly what she had done. "I feel very…attached to you. I thought at first it was from the connection with Midna, and then I believed it was because we are the reincarnation of the Hero of Time and his princess, who were in love….But now I am certain it is because I care for you as much as any other time in my many lives."

His eyes appeared to light up though his expression remained serious. He leaned in to whisper in her left ear. "Does your heart feel ready to explode any time you are near me?"

She had to breathe the answer out, the sudden closeness overpowering her. "Yes."

He switched to the other ear, whispering again as though keeping it a secret. "And does your mind fill with memories of all the love and happiness we've once shared?"

She nodded. "Yes."

Link fell back, smiling. "Good, I thought that was just me."

There was a pause, before Zelda huffed and sputtered out word with no meaning, before she understood, truly, what he had just said. "Do you mean to say that you—that you also…?"

"Care for you more than anything? Yes. Love you beyond words and reason? Yes."

Comprehension evaded Zelda. The words she had always wanted him to say were finally being said, and yet they seemed out of context. The timing of it seemed imperfect. Her brow furrowed as she frowned. "But why? How? How could you love me so in just a few short days?"

Link smiled against the back of her hand, brushing his lips against it once more. "How can you say it's been only a few short days? Surely you remember our many lifetimes?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"But what, princess? Do not fret with worry, thinking I only care for you now that I remember the past. I also care for you, here and now, past be damned." He brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. "You're stubborn, you're funny, and you're too curious for your own good. And I can't help but irritate you. But now, with the time we have been given, I want to be there to see those things. I want to remember them myself, not from some distant and shrouded memory of the few moments we've had over a millennia."

Zelda's brain felt fuzzy with sentiment. Perhaps he was right—the timing was imperfect and yet it had to be that way, because of the way time warped their very existences. Her heart swelled as he explained but her reasoning process seemed to slow. "So does that mean the goddesses…do they…?"

Link smiled and pulled her closer. "They send their regards….and consent."

Zelda's heart now beat frantically against her ribs, chest nearly exploding for the joy of what she just heard. Her eyes lit up and her smile grew wide; she trembled from the news, felt it filling her up with some sort of heavenly promise of good things to come.

Still they did not move close enough, and Zelda twisted her mouth in a sly grin. "Well then what are you waiting for, hero?"

Both lost their smiles as their lips found each other. It was a heartfelt kiss that grew greedy, both drinking in the taste of the other as though it were the fruit of life itself. Zelda felt as though she had ascended into the heavens, the pleasure and the joy of the kiss too much for her to bear. She clung to him tightly as the kiss deepened, lips roving over lips, tongues touching gently. They only parted when the need for air became more insistent than the need for each other. But even as their lips broke apart, Link continued to trail kisses all over Zelda's face and neck, as though he would never be able to do so again.

Zelda sighed in contentment, happiness exuded from her in waves. But it was not long before her mind began to process the entire ordeal, to question and wonder at the strange turn of events her life had taken in just a few short days. Link noticed her sudden contemplation and ended his onslaught of kisses, twisting around so that he could rest against the trunk of the tree, still holding onto her as tightly as he could.

She rearranged the blanket absently so that it covered them both and he smiled into her hair. He knew she would begin questioning him soon, because he knew her, just as readily and just as easily as she knew him. And so he waited to hear her thoughts, though he did not have to wait long.

"Why would the goddesses tell me to journey back, by myself, if they never intended me to finish the journey?"

Link pointed carefully to the castle road just beyond the ridge. "The castle is just there. You basically made it back by yourself."

"Then what was the point of forcing me to do it alone? Why did they not command you to journey with me?"

Link shifted a bit uncomfortably next to her, and she yearned to hear his thought process out loud. "They sent you back because you were ready to accept whatever must be. I was not."

Zelda craned her neck to look at him and he looked down at her without expression. "Does that mean you were not sure of us?"

Link shook his head; Zelda felt the movement brush against her own. "It means that I was not sure of myself, let alone us. You have had an eternity of faith, Zelda. I am just now beginning to grasp it."

This admission brought sorrow as well as joy to Zelda's heart, as she felt her soul reconnected in places, some bitter and some resentful. Faith was a fickle thing, she decided. Some went centuries without ever losing it, and some never seemed able to entertain it at all. She wondered at the opposing emotions she felt. Could it be possible that she envied herself this moment? Could it be that she had long been waiting for Link to have faith in her, in them together?

Zelda sighed lightly, rubbing her face against his chest as she buried closer to him. "And what brought on this renewed sense of faith, Link? Did you too learn something during the religious journey?"

He held their hands up for them both to look at, their fingers entwined and fitting perfectly. "I think you might have knocked some faith into me, princess. I merely learned that it's best to listen to the Bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom."

"That's a lesson a long time coming," Zelda remarked, and found the words strange in her mouth; they were not just her own. But Link merely laughed.

"So what now, princess? Shall I return you to your castle and serve as your personal guard, sneaking kisses and dances whenever the time permits it?"

Zelda shook her head. "No, that is the old story. We can write a new one now, together, finally, at long last."

Link cupped her chin, turning her face to his. "And what will the new one say?"

Zelda paused for a moment, staring into his eyes and thinking. "They lived happily ever after?"

Link grimaced before laughing. "Surely that's an old tale too?"

Zelda licked her lips before closing the distance between them. "True, but 'tis worth remembering."

* * *

The End! El Fin! Liked it, loved it, or hated it? Let me know what you think!


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